


Christmas looks good on you

by Significant_What



Series: and the sun so loved the moon [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, First Love, Getting Together, Holding Hands, M/M, Nerds in Love, New Year's Kiss, Nico Has Friends, Slow Burn, a little bit of character study, nanowrimo made me do it, need me a nerd like that, nico thinks a lot of things are weird, teenagers in love, will gets creative with christmas gifts, will is a huge nerd, will thinks he's so clever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-02 07:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16782616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Significant_What/pseuds/Significant_What
Summary: “What kind of bird is this?” Nico asks, because that seems like the kind of question he’s supposed to ask now. It’s not the prettiest bird Nico has seen, it’s actually quite ordinary, but the longer Nico looks at it the more he likes the shades of red at the tip of the bird’s visible wing. Maybe the nice contrast of reddish brown against the green of the tree leaves is why Will took the picture.“It’s a partridge.” There’s something off in Will’s voice, and when Nico looks up he seems a little shy. “In a pear tree.”It’s been a while since Will last looked shy around Nico. They have grown comfortable with each other’s presence, but now Nico wonders if he’s missing some important point here.





	1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

**Author's Note:**

> this is something i've been planning for maybe two years now and finally had (sort of) a reason to actually write. i got sick of christmas fics always being about mistletoes and first snow and cuddling by the fire place. don't get me wrong - i love those, oh my god, do i ever! i just wanted to do something different, and well, here we are.
> 
> i made a little bit of research for this. (who am i kidding, my google search history is full of birds and milking cows and i don't even know if i should laugh or cry...) i'm basing the lyrics of the song _twelve days of christmas_ on an article i found that you can read [here](http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/twelve_days_of_christmas.htm). if you're interested on the history of the song, you should read it at some point, it's super detailed. anyway, there is probably going to be a lot of notes on some of the chapters, but let me just point out a few things now.
> 
> the **canon divergence** tag. i'm making the conscious choice to exclude a whole lot of what happens in the trials of apollo series. basically everything. i choose not to believe that jason is dead, so in my fics he will never die (that is a promise), and having apollo here would just have messed things up for me, so yeah. this is what i'm doing with this. i tried to keep everything from the first two series legit, though!
> 
> timeline! this will take place in the days after christmas, the actual _twelve days of christmas_. yes, i am aware that it's probably supposed to start so that christmas day is the first day of christmas, but give me a break here. i had already written half of the chapters when i realized this, and by then it was already too late to fix it.
> 
> publishing dates! i am happy to announce that this is going to work as a **christmas calendar** for you guys! this is another thing i have been wanting to do for ages. i will publish one chapter every two days, starting with the first of december, and we will be finished just in time for me to take a break from social media for a few days during the holidays. sound fun? i think so too! i have ten of the twelve chapters ready as i start, let's hope writer's block doesn't reach me before i finish writing (knock on wood).
> 
> i really hope i remembered to mention everything important here... oh well. wish me luck with this! and i really do hope you like it, i'm actually pretty damn proud of this one!!

Nico has never been really a Christmas person. Or a holiday person. He’s never really seen the point of it all, nor has he actually had the time to consider it. It’s not like you think about carols and ugly Christmas sweaters and some guy climbing down the chimney when you’re running for your life across the country and fighting every day to stay alive. 

Things have changed, though. Monsters still chase demigods and Nico still wakes up from nightmares with cold sweat clinging to his skin, but Nico is (more or less) safe in Camp Half-Blood. His days are no longer spent wondering what he has that he can eat and where he can spend the night without freezing to death. He eats two warm meals a day, and has breakfast when Will manages to drag him to the dining pavilion before noon, and after the nightly sing-along camp fire he has his own bed in his own cabin where he knows he will be warm and safe. 

What Nico has found out during these few months is that not running for his life gives him a lot more time to think. And as the days have turned colder and people have started getting excited about presents and ginger bread and the gods letting the canoe lake to freeze over for ice skating, Nico has once or twice found himself thinking about Christmas. 

Nico knows, on some level, that he must have celebrated Christmas with his mother and Bianca a long time ago in Italy. He has no recollection about it, but he _must_ have, right? That’s what normal families did, and still do. Sure, his family has always been a little unconventional, but surely they have celebrated Christmas in some way? Nico wishes he had some way of asking, or someone to ask; when someone asks him what he likes most about Christmas, all Nico can do is shrug and say he doesn’t know and hope no one asks anything further. 

Will knows, of course. Will knows more than anyone else, more than Jason, even. Ever since Will had managed to make Nico stay (not that Nico would ever admit that Will had anything to do with that decision whatsoever) the two of them have built a solid friendship, which Nico finds oddly nice. Sure, Will is annoying in a way that he keeps nagging about Nico getting enough sleep and drinking enough water and socializing. But Will has also helped Nico get a better handle on the world they live in, teaching him about pop culture and the possibilities in education available even for year-round campers such as themselves. They have been hanging out a lot together, sometimes just the two of them and sometimes with other campers such as Malcolm from the Athena cabin and Jake from Hephaestus. 

And despite never considering himself to be much of a people person, Nico likes being around Will. He likes Malcolm and Jake and Jason, too, but he’s more comfortable with Will. Will is just pushy enough to get Nico talking, not handling him with kid gloves, but at the same time he knows when to back off and let things go. Will doesn’t seem to mind that there are days when he has to do all the talking while Nico just listens and nods from time to time, and when Nico _does_ have something to say Will always makes Nico feel heard and understood. All in all, it’s very nice. 

So it’s not really a surprise that Nico has opened up to Will about the whole Christmas business. It just feels like a lot, sometimes, that there’s this whole culture about one single day of the year that everyone seems to be obsessed about and Nico knows nothing about. Like, sure, he knows what Christmas is about, he’s not an idiot, but he doesn’t get the hype around it. 

Will, as it turns out, is an excellent guide to all things Christmas. Will loves singing carols off tune, he has a different sweater for every day of December, he has developed decorating Christmas cookies into a form of art. He has a lengthy answer to every question Nico could possibly have, from food to decorations and from traditions to timetables. By the time December 25th rolls around Nico feels like some kind of expert, himself, even if there are still a lot of things he doesn’t understand. 

“Don’t worry about it”, Will always says, though, and not just about Christmas, “you’ll get it eventually.” 

And Nico has absolutely no reason to doubt Will, since he has been right about almost everything else. 

Nico has never been really a Christmas person, but even he knows not to expect for the hype to die down immediately. He’s not really surprised when he walks to the dining pavilion on the morning of the 26th and everyone seems just as excited as they had been the day before, if a little bit more tired than usual (apparently staying up until dawn and then sleeping later is part of the Camp Half-Blood Christmas tradition). 

Despite Chiron allowing them one more day to celebrate, free from camp duty, most of the campers decide to run through some trills anyway, or participate in other regular activities. Jake claims that all the socializing is making him nauseous and stalks towards Bunker 9. Nico can’t really blame him. He catches a couple of Aphrodite kids talking about needing to go for a run to lose all the extra weight they’ve gotten from all the Christmas food, but Nico can’t exactly tell if they need it. Someone from cabin 4 whines about boredom as they make their way to the lava wall. 

Nico himself spends most of the day sitting on the benches in the Amphitheater reading a book about some band that had apparently been a big deal in the 70’s. He had been a little embarrassed when Jason had presented the book to him the night before, claiming it to be a Christmas present. Nico hadn’t even thought about getting anything to, well, almost anyone; he’s not used to having to worry about these things, or to having friends. He only sent a small gift to Hazel, that’s all. He supposes he will have to be better prepared next year. 

It’s nearing three o’clock in the afternoon when Nico’s stomach grumbles and he realizes he has spent more than five hours without looking up from his book. He picks up a small green leaf and sets it as a bookmark between the pages – he’s halfway through the book already – then gets up and stretches. He has some cookies that Will baked in his cabin still, those will keep his hunger at bay until dinner. Nico just hopes dinner won’t be such a festive occasion this time as well – singing carols and pulling crackers once a year is more than enough. 

There’s something tucked between the planks on the Hades cabin door when Nico reaches it. From a little ways away it looks like some kind of a note. Nico doesn’t know why anyone would bother leaving him a note when he has been sitting in the Amphitheater all day, for once not even trying to hide from other people. 

It’s not a note, it turns out. It’s a photograph, taken with one of those Polaroid cameras Malcolm says are becoming more and more popular again. Nico furrows his brows. It’s a nice picture, for sure, the colors are vibrant and it’s well framed. Nico doesn’t understand much about photography, but in his eyes the picture is beautiful, if a little plain. 

“You like it?” 

Nico turns around to find Will standing a few feet away, at the foot of the stairs. There’s some kind of expectant glint in Will’s eyes, making them a strange shade of blue. 

Nico likes Will’s eyes. He has blushed more times than he would care to admit just thinking about Will’s eyes and the way they seem to be looking at him a lot of the time. Nico doesn’t want to think what that could mean. He has been disappointed before. 

“Yes.” Nico looks at the picture in his hands. Turning it around he sees a there’s a small number 1 written there with blue ink. “It’s nice.” He’s so incredibly confused. He would never have guessed Will has some kind of interest in birds or photographing birds. It has never come up in conversation before. Maybe he should pay more attention to what Will _doesn’t_ say. “Did you take this yourself?” 

Will beams at him and rises to the first step. This makes him so close that Nico would only need to lean in a little bit for their shoulders to touch. “Yeah! I borrowed Malcolm’s camera and walked through the woods for an entire hour. It was a long shot, but I was incredibly lucky to have gotten that picture, even though Juniper helped a little. Did you know there are only three pear trees on the camp grounds?” 

No, Nico hadn’t known that. He wonders if he should have; the pear tree seems to hold some significance, the way Will says it. Nico looks at the branches on the small picture and has to admit the tree does look very nice. Maybe it’s the lighting. 

“What kind of bird is this?” Nico asks, because that seems like the kind of question he’s supposed to ask now. It’s not the prettiest bird Nico has seen, it’s actually quite ordinary, but the longer Nico looks at it the more he likes the shades of red at the tip of the bird’s visible wing. Maybe the nice contrast of reddish brown against the green of the tree leaves is why Will took the picture. 

“It’s a partridge.” There’s something off in Will’s voice, and when Nico looks up he seems a little shy. “In a pear tree.” 

It’s been a while since Will last looked shy around Nico. They have grown comfortable with each other’s presence, but now Nico wonders if he’s missing some important point here. 

Understanding people is not something that comes easy to Nico. Sometimes people have to explain something that is probably pretty basic to them several times until Nico gets it. With some people it’s even more frustrating, as it seems that it’s common to use non-verbal language at least as much as verbal, and sometimes the two don’t match. The hidden meanings are often lost to Nico, and he just wishes people would say what they intend to say and not make him guess. He’s not very good at guessing. 

Nico doesn’t usually have this problem with Will, mostly because Will talks so much that it eventually comes clear what he means. Nico can be patient enough to wait to hear the intentions. What he can’t do, however, is read minds, and that’s exactly what Will seems to expect from him now, looking at Nico quite intensely and biting his lip like he’s expecting Nico to say something very specific. 

Nico has no idea what he’s supposed to do. 

“Thank you”, is what he says, even though he knows it’s not all of what Will wants to hear. But the picture is kind of a gift, is it not? You’re supposed to say thank you. “It’s a really nice picture.” Nico knows he’s repeating himself, and it frustrates him, because he wants to say more but doesn’t know what. 

As expected, Will looks disappointed. But not much, and not for long, and then he smiles that typical Will Solace trademarked smile that never fails to make Nico’s stomach flutter. It’s even stronger now that it’s already grumbling from hunger. Maybe that’s where the light-headedness comes from, too. He really should go eat those cookies. 

“I’m really glad you like it”, Will smiles, then steps back down and away from Nico, starting to walk backwards towards his own cabin. Nico is oddly disappointed, but it’s not like standing so close to each other for no reason is normal, anyway. “I’ll see you at dinner, right?” 

Nico nods. His hair tickles his forehead and falls into a curtain before his eyes. “Right.” 

When Will turns his back to him, Nico swears he hears him mutter something that sounds almost like “should have gone with the Juniper version”. Nico understands this even less than anything that happened before. 

A part of Nico wants to call after Will and ask what the picture means, but then again, Nico feels like he is supposed to already know. Or what if it doesn’t mean anything? What if Will just got a nice shot of a bird and though Nico would like it? It wouldn’t be the first time Nico is reading way too much into the situation. It’s a really bad habit. 

But really. Nico looks at the written number 1 behind the picture. There has to be some hidden meaning behind the whole thing. It makes Nico a little angry, in a way, because it’s the first time Will hasn’t outright told him everything. Nico had thought Will understood this kind of thing is difficult to Nico, but apparently, he had been wrong. 

Nico props the picture against the table lamp on his desk as he nibbles on the Christmas cookies that are a little bit too dry now. As his stomach settles and he’s not quite as hungry anymore, he can take a deep breath and let go of the small bit of anger. Nico made a conscious decision at the end of the Giant War to trust people more, and especially trust Will, and so far Will hasn’t broken that trust. Maybe Nico just has to have faith that Will will tell him what’s going on if he doesn’t figure it out when needed. That’s what Will usually does. 

And anyway, the picture still is quite nice. Nico thinks if he can figure out how to get more of them and pin them on his walls to make them less bare. 

After eating the cookies and cleaning up the crumbs Nico goes for a walk. It’s been a few weeks since he last walked around the canoe lake; it’s his favorite route by far. And the thing is, by the time he reaches the lake and sees people lacing up skates and laughing, Nico has almost forgotten about the picture of a partridge entirely.


	2. Two Turtle Doves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the second day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you who didn't get the juniper-part at the end of the first chapter: in the link i shared with you in the start notes it is said that in some versions of the song, the line goes _and a bird in a juniper tree_ ; in the chapter, will's plan b was to have juniper help him out in some way, not sure how though.
> 
> second day of christmas! this is actually one of my favourite chapters, i really hope you like what i came up with. will's whistle skills deserve more attention. 
> 
> (alternative title: nico di angelo has friends)

Since Nico is the only child in Hades permanently residing in Camp Half-Blood he gets to pick out his camp activities himself. The only thing Chiron tells him is that he needs to participate in two activities each day, and no, he can’t just sword fight twice a day six days a week, which actually seems fair to Nico. 

The camp has many possible activities, and Nico has tried most of them by December. He enjoys occasional lava wall practices with the children of Nike, but they’re so competitive that Nico doesn’t feel like going with them every week. Percy made him try canoeing, but Nico just had just felt stupid and to this day he’s sure that Percy had done it to feel better about himself. Surprisingly, Chiron counts helping out in the infirmary as an activity, which means that four times a week Nico sits in one of the cots and cuts bandages or labels bottles while listening to Will tell him about the greatest musicians in the past seventy years.

Then there are the stables, where Nico has found a strange sort of comfort. Most of the animals he has encountered have scared away from him as soon as they have smelled the death in him, but the winged horse that Percy calls Blackjack is braver than most. Or maybe it’s just that ever since Percy mentioned the horse’s addiction to doughnuts Nico makes it a point to bring some every now and then. Blackjack lets Nico brush his mane in silence, and when Nico leaves he gets a soft huff against his cheek as a thank you.

At first Nico had expressed no interest in coming over to Bunker 9 to tinker with pieces of metal. Nico has never found himself being very talented in any craft, and to be honest, after what happened to Bianca, he has been more than a little hesitant going anywhere near metallic machines if there’s even the slightest chance that it has a mind of its own. Even on his walks through the woods, Nico managed to avoid going near Bunker 9 for two whole months.

It had been Jake Mason who first managed to drag Nico inside. Or maybe Nico could blame Jason for breaking his helmet while sparring, so Nico had to go look for a child of Hephaestus to fix it. Whichever story he will eventually go with, Nico has found that Jake is funny, and that the sound of drills and clanking od metal and warmth of the flame throwers is soothing in a strange kind of way. No one in Bunker 9 asks you anything; if you can hold a tool without dropping it, you might as well be useful. After two weeks Jake has more or less adopted Nico as his personal assistant for twice a week. Nico doesn’t really mind.

Will has joined Nico in Bunker 9 for a few times when Chiron has kicked him out of the infirmary, stating that he needs a change of scenery. And Nico has to admit that Bunker 9 is a lot different from the infirmary. It’s surprising how well Will fits there, too, focusing on bending the metal or swiping the floor or designing a pattern for a shield. Will and Jake share telling stories about their previous years in camp, and Nico likes to listen to them. Especially Will.

That’s probably the reason why Nico doesn’t suspect anything when Will comes to him during breakfast and asks him if he would like to join him in Bunker 9 after lunch. Nico has solo practice on the sword fighting arena scheduled, but no one will miss him there, so he nods and turns back to his oat meal pancakes.

At lunch, Nico sits in the Apollo table between Will and Austin and catches people staring in three separate occasions. He can’t really understand why it’s such a big deal that he doesn’t sit in his own table. Chiron himself keeps telling him he needs to make friends, and how can he do that if he’s forced to sit alone in the Hades table? Chiron has allowed Percy and Jason to sit with him when they’re at camp so they can keep each other company, as the only children of the Big Three in Camp Half-Blood. Why is it any different from Nico sitting with the Apollo kids when Percy and Jason aren’t there?

(What Nico also doesn’t understand is why people keep smirking at him. Has he got something in his face? He tries to subtly wipe his face, but the smirking won’t stop.)

“I’m really excited about this”, Will says as they walk together towards Bunker 9, grinning that crazy bright way of his that would make any mortal believe he’s the son of a sun god. “I have this idea I’d like to try, and Jake has promised to show me some techniques that should work for it. He says there’s a box full of scrap metal that I can use. Will you help me?”

Will looks so hopeful that Nico feels a little offended. It’s not like he’s excessively refused to help Will before, no need to act like it’d be the greatest surprise all year. Still, he shrugs and quietly says “okay” while dodging a low hanging branch of a pine tree.

Nico doesn’t turn to look, but he has a funny feeling that Will is grinning even wider than before, if possible.

In Bunker 9 Nico heads to his favorite corner; it’s a little ways away from the door, near the back, but it’s next to a window in case he needs to make a quick escape. There’s a small wooden shelf above the desk there, and on that shelf Nico has stashed a few of his own small projects that Jake has helped him to tinker with: an old wrist watch he’s trying to turn into a folding shield, a few pieces of bronze he’s melted together in the middle that he uses when he wants to try a new technique before using it on something else, and the ring he once got from his father that he’s attempting to make bigger without making it look any different.

As soon as Nico reaches the desk he quickly takes his projects and hides them in a drawer, a little embarrassed to have thought them good enough to show off. It’s likely no one in Bunker 9 has even noticed them, but Will looks at the world differently than any child of Hephaestus Nico knows. Will would have noticed. Nico isn’t too sure he would have been impressed. (Nico is not trying to impress Will. Not with scrap metal, anyway.)

Will reaches the desk a moment later, smirking a little. Nico wonders if Will has seen the projects after all and feels himself blush.

“So what’s this thing you want to work on, anyway?” Nico asks and turns his back on Will, his tone a little accusatory in his lingering embarrassment. 

Coming to stand next to him by the desk, Will takes a paper from the breast pocket of his flannel shirt and unfolds it before handing it to Nico. “I’m not an engineer, so Malcolm helped me with the drawings. It’s going to be a small bird that – if it works – will fly on a whistle.”

One of the things Nico has learned and finds most interesting about Will is his complete lack of musical talent. A child of Apollo who doesn’t play an instrument and can’t sing to save his life? Nico hasn’t heard of anyone like that before. It’s fascinating, and it makes Will a little bit flawed, a little bit more human. Nico likes that, especially during times when Will seems so good in every other sense and Nico makes to think of something to make Will a little less _out of this world_.

But Will can whistle. Boy, can he whistle. Nico has first learned this during the war against Gaea, when Will’s whistle had been strong enough to command hell hounds. That had been so cool, and such an interesting talent to have, and maybe even a little bit attractive. Since then Nico has witnessed Will break glass with a whistle, and perfectly mimic a bird in the woods. In Nico’s opinion, singing and playing instruments is overrated. It takes real talent to be able to whistle like that and _smile_ while doing it.

If anyone could make a metallic bird fly with only a whistle, it’d be Will.

“Cool”, is all Nico says about it, because he doesn’t want to seem too eager. “And how do you want me to help you?”

Will starts explaining how he thinks the bird should work, and Jake joins them a few minutes in to bring them the materials and give some insight on how Will should go about his little project. Jake can’t stay for long, though, because apparently a full box of ready fire works blew up during the night and they have to start from scratch. He seems a little frantic, to be honest, and it’s no wonder, New Year’s Eve is only a few days away. Nico feels a little conflicted, wanting to help the Hephaestus kids in any way he can around Bunker 9 but having already promised his help to Will.

(Who is Nico kidding. It’s not a real competition between spending time with Will and helping Jake. But apparently Nico has spent enough time with Will that helping others is now a thing he really wants to do. That in and of itself is a strange thought.)

Nico helps Will gather small, suitable pieces of celestial bronze from the box Jake has brought them, careful not to cut themselves on the sharp edges. Will has a very specific vision on what the bird should look like, and to make it fly it needs to be made out of the thinnest pieces of bronze they can find. Will takes a chair and Nico sits on top of the desk, and they work in silence for a while. Nico has grown to like these silences, interrupted only by Will’s soft humming and the usual sounds that can be heard in Bunker 9.

“I think we have enough bronze for _two_ birds here”, Nico says when Will moves on to sort out the tiny bolts and screws and cogwheels they will need.

Will looks up at Nico. There’s a strange glint in his eyes again, one that Nico really can’t place. “Then why _don’t_ we make two birds? You could make the other one.”

For some reason Nico gets the feeling that this is what Will has been meaning to happen from the beginning. The suggestion comes too readily, without any additional thinking. Will must have wanted to make two of these birds from the start. And Nico wants to be annoyed about this, wants to feel like Will cheated him into doing this. But the truth is that he is getting excited about this project, too, thinking about different ways to make it work, figuring out alternative designs on the wings.

Damn Will and his too good ideas.

Nico and Will get to work. They don’t talk much out of sharing ideas and thoughts about their birds. Will makes a few remarks on how it can’t be good on Nico’s back to sit on the table like that, but Nico just rolls his eyes at him, smiling slightly. In return Nico comments on Will’s absolute lack of talent when it comes to humming Christmas carols, and Will gives a whistle high enough to make Nico wince. 

There’s a few louder than normal bangs on the other side of the bunker, making Will jump and Nico look up in alarm, but the other campers send little Harley to inform them that everything is under control. Harley seems to be interested in the birds, too, and Will promises that if they do indeed work he will give the designs to Harley as a late Christmas gift. Harley seems very happy with that, and when he makes his bay back to where the others work on the fire works Nico hears him babble about new modifications and possibly trying to make himself a pet dog.

“You do realize he’s going to build an army of metal animals”, Nico says and hands Will a screwdriver before Will can ask for it. “I’m honestly a little worried about that kid, sometimes.”

“Don’t be.” Will’s bird is almost ready, he’s just fixing the tale now, and then he needs to figure out the markings on the wings before attaching them. “Harley has an active imagination, sure, but he adores Jake. If Jake says something isn’t a good idea, Harley will drop it. And besides”, Will smirks at Nico from under his bangs and Nico’s heart does that annoying thing it does every now and then around Will, “doesn’t hurt to have an army at hand, especially if it can be controlled by a whistle. We both know I’d be unstoppable.”

The possibility that Will would have an army of metal animals isn’t any less worrying, but Nico doesn’t say anything. He turns back to his bird, and after a while Will starts humming again.

It’s nearing dinner time when both of the birds are finally ready for testing. Nico and Will take them outside in the woods and place them on a fallen tree. Nico’s bird is a little bit smaller, but Will’s is just as delicate. They look a lot alike except for the wings, where Nico has carved straight lines to resemble feathers and Will’s bird has intricate swirls. Sitting there on the tree trunk next to each other, though, they look an oddly compatible pair.

“Why did you design the birds like that?” Nico asks when Will finishes setting his bird down and takes a step back. “I mean, you could have gone with a more hummingbird-like structure. They’re smaller and lighter, wouldn’t they have been easier to make fly?”

As Nico watches, Will bites his lip and contemplates the two birds. “Maybe”, he admits, “but these are turtle doves.” It’s said like turtle doves are supposed to mean something to Nico, but Nico isn’t sure he’s ever even seen a turtle dove. How different are they from regular doves? “Anyway, are you ready? Moment of truth.”

Nico nods and turns at look at the birds in anticipation. There’s a few seconds of silence, and then Will whistles, not too loudly, but a short and bright tune. The birds come to life and turn their heads towards Will, and after another soft whistle they spread their wings and fly. Will keeps whistling and the birds circle around them a few times, then he reaches his hand out palm up and the birds come to rest there.

Nico wants to laugh. The birds are beautiful, they work better than he could have imagined. It’s a strange feeling; Nico isn’t sure he’s ever created something as beautiful as this himself, from scratch. Of course Will did the thinking on the birds, too, but watching them fly still gives Nico a strong sense of accomplishment, like he’s good at something. Nico hasn’t felt that way a lot since coming to Camp Half-Blood, where everyone seems to be an expert in something and the only thing Nico is naturally good at is killing plants and raising bones from the ground.

“They actually work”, Nico says in giddy amazement and looks at Will. “Not that I didn’t think they would, it’s just... they’re amazing.”

The tip of Will’s nose is red. Nico wonders if Will is blushing of if he’s catching a cold. Neither of those seems likely to Nico. (Will is a son of Apollo. He doesn’t _catch a cold_.) “They are pretty cool, huh?” Will asks, smiling at Nico and holding the birds out towards him. “You should take them. You know, for safe keeping.”

“But what about – “

“They’re not safe in the Apollo cabin”, Will continues without listening to Nico’s protests. “There are too many people there, and I don’t have a proper shelf to stash them. You have a whole cabin to yourself. The birds will be safe there.”

On their way back to the cabins, Nico tries to think of a good enough argument. One of the birds is Will’s, the other is designed by him. One could argue that they’re actually both Will’s if you think about it, and Nico would agree. But he knows Will is right, he has been to the Apollo cabin a few times and knows how hectic and chaotic it can get there. It’s no place for such delicate things as these. So in the end Nico takes the birds, both of them, and gently sets them down on his desk, next to the picture of a partridge Will got him the day before.


	3. Three French Hens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the third day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was a little problematic, but hey, please appreciate the postal system i came up with!

The end of the war against Gaea saw many changes in both Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Some changes are big, like the fact that both camps are now more than just aware of each other, that they are decidedly allies in any future conflict. Some are smaller, like the exchange of knowledge, history, and ways of life. And some changes are immeasurable: half-bloods in almost every cabin in Camp Half-Blood have doubled their sibling count, there are nieces and nephews in New Rome they’ve never even dreamed of, possibilities few have dared to imagine. New friendships have been made, and most importantly to Nico, constant communication between the two camps has been established.

The idea came from Coach Hedge, of all people, and his wife Mellie the cloud nymph. Mellie’s sisters have organized a secure network for delivering letters, similarly to the way they delivered her letters to Coach during the war, only in a larger scale. Twice a week, a post office in Camp Jupiter gathers all letters from their end in a large folder. The nymphs then deliver the folder into the Big House in Camp Half-Blood, and the same folder goes back the next day, carrying the reply letters. Not many people have taken into the practice yet, more comfortable with Iris Messaging, but Nico has found it easier to communicate with Hazel through paper.

It’s not because Nico feels like he can’t talk to Hazel. It has more to do with the fact that words are hard for him, and finding time to talk is equally difficult for Hazel. This way Nico can think of what he wants to say over, write and rewrite until he feels like he has found the right words, and then send the letter knowing that he hasn’t said anything thoughtless because he’s nervous to keep a conversation flowing. And Hazel is busy, but reading a letter is something she can do while standing guard at the gates, and she can work on her reply in between her duties. 

This way Hazel can also send her drawings along with her letters, and Nico puts each and every one of them on the walls in the Hades cabin. Hazel is getting better with every new drawing she sends, experimenting with styles and techniques and models. Lately, she writes in her letters, she has taken to sitting on a roof top and watching people, sketching them as they walk by, trying to convey their thoughts and feelings on the faces he draws on the paper. Nico thinks she’s succeeding really well, and he can’t help but feel very proud of his sister. Hazel could make a living out of art, Nico is sure of it, and he remembers to constantly tell her that in his letters, too.

Nico is so proud that he has shown some of these pictures to Will, too. Of course, Will can see all of them when he sometimes visits Nico in the Hades cabin (something Jason keeps asking Nico about, so sure there’s something going on that Nico isn’t telling him), but Nico has pointed out several of her works that he’s especially liked. He’s sure he sounds rather stupid when he talks this much about his sister and her talent, but Hazel is his only living relative – Hades and the other gods excluded, of course. He can never express enough how much she means to him, but he can always try, and showing off how proud of her he is should work as part of that.

The first mail after Christmas comes right before breakfast, so Chiron takes it upon himself to deliver the letters to their recipients. There are not quite as many of them as last time, when it seemed like most of the campers received a Christmas card or a small package of some kind. Nico isn’t expecting anything, himself, having gotten a long letter from Hazel last time, but he does get a short note from her, thanking him for the sketch book he sent her. The smile that grows on Nico’s lips is a little more pleased than he thinks it has any right to be, given that he had almost forgotten to send the gift to Hazel in the first place.

Nico is roused from his musings by Will, waving at him across the dining pavilion, asking him to join him in the Apollo table. Nico spares a look around, but it seems that most of the campers have already eaten and left, so he doesn’t think anyone would really mind if he sat in the wrong table for a little while.

“Come, Nico, look at what Hazel sent me!” Will calls when Nico has barely taken a step yet. 

Will looks very excited about something, but all Nico can feel is a slight jealousy that Hazel has sent something to someone who isn’t Nico. He knows it’s irrational, because Hazel is a very nice and warm person who is easy to befriend. But Nico had – for some unexplainable reason – wanted to keep his contact to Hazel and his friendship with Will separate. It’s not like Hazel can’t be friends with Will, Nico would never say that. Maybe he just likes being the only one Hazel sends letters to in Camp Half-Blood.

(That’s not it, and Nico knows it. He knows Hazel sometimes writes to Annabeth, and that she and Frank share Iris Messages with Jason. Those letters don’t bother him in the least; why does it bother when it’ Will?)

Nico does go to Will, though, and sit down next to him. Whatever it is that Hazel has sent Will, at least Will still wants to share it with Nico.

“I haven’t opened it yet”, Will explains as Nico steals a grape from his plate. “But I commissioned something from her a couple of weeks ago, and I think this is it!”

Nico really wants to roll his eyes. He doesn’t know what it is about the situation that makes him so irritated, he just knows that he is. He steals another grape and tries not to glare too hard at the large envelope in Will’s hands. “And what, exactly, is _it_?”

It takes Nico a little too long to realize how annoyed he sounds, and he blushes as he notices Will giving him a confused look. Nico is fairly sure that he is not angry at Will, not really, and he tries to convey that without words by inching just that tiny bit closer to Will on the bench. Malcolm, who is just then walking by the table on his way to start the day’s activities, gives him a meaningful look and winks. Nico doesn’t know what that means.

Will seems pleased enough, though, as his confusion morphs into a bright smile and he starts opening the envelope. “Just the most awesome thing _ever_ ”, he explains, but it really doesn’t explain anything, so Nico resigns to patiently waiting to see what it actually is. He has to admit he’s curious.

After slowly, carefully opening the envelope (how can anyone spend so much time on just opening one single paper envelope?) Will pulls out one sheet of paper, slightly stronger than the paper Hazel writes her letters to Nico on. Will holds the paper close to himself, so Nico doesn’t see what it is right away, but this gives him a good opportunity to watch as Will’s eyes gleam in obvious delight upon seeing what Hazel sent him. Nico’s heart does that stupid thing again, hits one beat out of rhythm. He wonders if he should worry about that happening more and more lately.

“This is perfect”, Will breathes, like he’s too excited to be concerned about such trivial things like how his voice works. He finally turns the paper to show Nico. “It was a very specific request, but Hazel nailed it! Isn’t it awesome?”

 _Awesome_ is not the word Nico would use to describe what he is seeing.

What Hazel has sent Will is a painting, and _technically_ it’s a very good painting. Nico has spent enough time looking at Hazel’s works to see how much her style has developed, how well she uses colors and plays with the paint when it’s still wet. Nico admires her for that; Nico himself has next to no eye for art, he just knows that Hazel is good when he compares her works to the knowledge he read from an art book Malcolm borrowed him a month ago.

It’s what the painting portrays that makes Nico make a face before he can control his reaction. There are three birds, chickens, posing like people in formal group photos. But the chickens have red scarves tied to their necks in a way that would probably look a little more elegant on a human, and on their little heads are black berets, tilted to the side stylishly like the chickens are models on a runway.

 _This_ is what Will was so excited about?

Hazel is an _artist_. Nico thinks this is an insult to her talent. He really hopes Hazel made Will pay good money for something like this.

“What the hell, Will?” Nico asks and takes the picture in his own hands. He doesn’t know what Will expects him to say; is this some kind of a joke?

“Oh come on, Nico, it’s funny!” So it is. Nico isn’t laughing. “I commissioned this from Hazel as a gift to you! I wanted three French hens, but French hens look like just regular hens, so I asked her to make them _French hens_.”

Yes, Nico can see why that would seem funny. It’s a pretty clever play with words, he supposes. Maybe it’d be funnier to Nico if he had been born in the same time as Will, if he had been raised in the same culture and with the same sense of humor, or even the same language. English comes easily to Nico, now, and he’s learning about the culture and Will’s humor, but he still doesn’t find this painting funny enough to actually enjoy it.

“Right.” 

What else can Nico really say? He can’t exactly trash the painting, because then he would be trashing Hazel, however indirectly. And he doesn’t want to insult Will – Will did say he commissioned this painting as a gift to Nico. But Nico has been under the impression that gifts are supposed to be something that the giver thinks the receiver will genuinely enjoy. In what universe does Will believe Nico would like to put this thing on his wall?

“It’s not supposed to be pretty, Nico”, Will says, not even a little bit offended by Nico’s less than lukewarm response to the painting. “It’s just supposed to be absurd and a little bit offensive to art in general, I guess. I personally think it’s hilarious.”

 _Good for you_ , Nico almost says but bites his tongue on the last minute. He doesn’t want to pick a fight with Will over a simple painting. Maybe he can learn to appreciate it, if only for the time and talent Hazel put into it. But the idea of putting this on his wall, next to the other pictures Hazel has sent him, turns Nico’s stomach. He thinks about the other new additions he has in his cabin, the polaroid picture and the two metallic birds.

Nico sets the painting on the table next to Will’s plate, secretly almost hoping something would stain it. “Will?” Will has turned back to his breakfast and merely nods to Nico as a sign that he’s listening. “Are you interested in ornithology?”

Will has a grape in his fingers. He’s on his way of popping it into his mouth, but then his hand stops, a few inches from his lips. Will turns his head towards Nico, his movements weirdly slow. The look in his eyes is not one Nico has seen before; it’s somewhere between confused and astonished, but for some reason Nico gets the idea that Will might be a little angry, too. He can only hope it’s not him Will is angry at.

“What?”

“Ornithology”, Nico repeats, thinking that maybe it’s the weird word that has Will confused. Maybe he should explain Will what it is? But Will is smart. It could be seen as insulting. “You’ve been talking a lot about birds lately. I just thought I’d ask.”

Even after Nico has stopped talking, Will just keeps looking at him. Nico starts feeling uncomfortable, and he can’t meet Will's eyes. He focuses on the grape, instead, and notices that Will has a slightly more forceful grip on it than is maybe strictly necessary. Nico finds that a little weird but doesn’t comment on it – maybe Will is just so lost in thought that he doesn’t realize the strength in his fingers. Happens to Nico all of the time.

(Okay, it mostly happens when Nico finds himself staring at Will across the dining pavilion, and that’s not even really that often. Will just has a very, very distracting face, that’s all. And a loud laugh.)

Nico is snapped out of his thoughts when the grape between Will’s fingers quite literally explodes. Will, too, jumps a little as if he was under some kind of trance, and starts hurriedly wiping the grape juice from his hand on a napkin. When Nico turns to look at Will’s face, it’s a little red.

“No, I’m not – I'm not interested in ornithology.” Will sounds like the whole idea is ridiculous, but Nico thinks the question was fair. Will dumps the used napkin on his plate, muttering something about needing to be more forward, which again makes absolutely no sense to Nico. It seems like Will is constantly having two conversations at once. “Anyway, I’ve got to go. I promised help Malcolm out with something. I’ll see you later, okay?”

(Nico watches as Will walks away, and the annoyed feeling is back. Malcolm is Nico’s friend, too, but he rarely feels like this when Malcolm spends time with _him_. It’s just when it’s Will. The realization is slow to dawn, but when it does it hits Nico like a brick in the face.

Nico isn’t jealous of Hazel writing letters to Will. He’s jealous of Will being close with anyone that isn’t Nico.

Well then. This could get complicated.)


	4. Four Colly Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the fourth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jasmine, at least, was wondering what will considers as good music. well, here's some of it - mostly nico's introspection on it, though. i may be reflecting. tell no one.

When Nico promised Will, back in early fall, that Will could help him in getting updated about everything that has happened in the pop culture in the past seventy years, Nico gravely underestimated the sheer amount of information he would be buried under.

Apparently a lot of things have happened. Nico is not good with numbers and dates, so the time line is a bit warped for him, but the point stands that he could never have imagined how much the world could change in such a relatively short time. Will talks generally about the advancements that have happened in technology, about phones and computers and the internet, but they don’t go into details. That doesn’t concern them, anyway; as long as the children of Hephaestus are unable to perfect the monster jamming device they’re constantly working on, Annabeth’s phone remains the only one in Camp Half-Blood.

Movies pose the same problem, kind of. Will manages to have Chiron arrange a field trip to a small movie theater a few miles over, and a dozen of so campers go see some film about pirates. Halfway through Will leans in and whispers to Nico that technically there are four sequels, and Nico loses all interest. The 3D glasses are weird and hurt the bridge of Nico’s nose, and he later tells Will that he’s okay with not knowing that much about the movie industry – which is just as well, because they don’t have internet on camp and keeping up is a bit difficult without.

Maybe it’s because Will is a son of Apollo, and Apollo is the god of music and arts, but Will takes Nico’s education on the great musicians very seriously. Will has taken one shift in the infirmary off his weekly schedule, so every Friday after lunch Nico follows Will into the Apollo cabin and sits on Will’s bed, listening to music. Sometimes Will talks about the artists, too, sometimes he dedicates a whole lesson on one band and plays entire albums to Nico. Will has a very vast taste in music, which means that he has made Nico listen to a lot of different things. He claims every piece of music is important in their own right, but Nico wants to argue that some of the things he’s had to listen to have been absolutely dreadful and must hold no cultural weight whatsoever.

There have been many good songs too, though. Nico has learned that he enjoys rock, but not much metal, and that while some pop songs are very catchy and good, some are just as bad as country. Jazz is good, so is some of the blues, but house does not sit well with Nico’s mind, or something that Will calls EDM. Nico has no idea what any of the music genres are before Will introduces them to him, so he has an open mind, but after a while Will starts learning what Nico likes and what not and keeps the songs that he doesn’t think Nico will like to the minimum. Nico appreciates this, since his mind is already swimming with information.

For the past two weeks, Will has been talking Nico’s ear off about the Beatles. It’s Will’s “ultimate favorite band”, as Nico has quickly learned, and Nico enjoys it a lot, too. There is a lot going on in the history part of Will’s lessons, and he insists on playing every Beatles song he can get his hold on to Nico. Nico doesn’t really mind, since this is a lot better than listening to that one dreadful country album just because it’s something Will’s mother listens to all the time. 

The point of these afternoons is, of course, to educate Nico on what has been going on in the world while he was in the Lotus Casino, and that’s why Chiron has given a special permission for the two of them to spend time alone in the cabin, with the condition that the door stays open. (Nico remembers Will blushing at that, and it only later dawns on Nico why. By then he’s gotten used to the teasing remarks the other campers sometimes make.) But an additional benefit is that Nico has grown much more comfortable with Will, spending time with him and existing in the same space as another human being. It doesn’t make Nico uncomfortable anymore to sit next to Will on Will’s bed, leaning their backs against the wall and knocking their knees together every now and then as they joke around.

Nico likes Will. He can admit as much to himself, now, finally. The feeling is familiar, yet a lot different from what he used to feel for Percy – Nico is starting to think that he never really actually liked Percy as much as the _idea_ of him. Will, though... Will is a whole different story, and Nico is still trying to figure that one out.

“Here, this one is one of my favorites”, Will says and puts another CD to the player. Nico adjusts the head phone bud in his ear and Will presses play.

Nico isn’t sure if it’s actually helpful or not, having Will this close and sometimes even leaning on him. From the educational point of view it’s, of course, whatever, as Nico would be taught these things anyway, whether he was growing any kind of feelings towards Will or not. But as Nico tries to figure himself out, and his thoughts about Will on top of that, he’s not sure he’s giving himself a fair chance when he smiles back at Will and sits next to him on camp fires. 

A part of Nico is still harboring a little hope that the small crush he has would simply pass. Life is so much easier when you don’t have to think about that kind of things. Besides, if Nico truly does let these feelings develop, it will be that much harder to pack up and leave when one day the camp will inevitably start feeling too much for him. Liking Will means he’s vulnerable, and being vulnerable gets you killed. It’s simple logic, if a little bit flawed, but Nico kind of wants to stick to it. It has kept him alive thus far.

Camp Half-Blood is safe, though. It’s been months since the war, and there has yet to be any sight of big trouble in the future. Some say it’s bound to happen sooner rather than later, they’re so used to something big and terrible happening every year since – well, since Percy arrived at camp six years ago, so Nico has heard. But mostly people are starting to get hopeful that maybe there really has been enough trouble to last them a life time, that maybe they’re lucky enough to live long lives and not see another great war until they’ve already passed on to Elysium. They don’t dare to say it out loud too much, though, in case they jinx it, but Nico can sense it in the way they make long standing plans.

Will is one of those people. So far Nico has heard him talk about the possibility to one day go to college on five separate occasions. Will wants to be a doctor, which isn’t a surprise to Nico, but so far he hasn’t really had the time to think about how he’s going to get his degrees. Nico has heard the stories from Malcolm, how Will has lost a brother after another in the past few years. He can understand how that sort of thing, and then becoming the head of your cabin unexpectedly, can make you think you might not live long enough to worry about college. Will has had a lot on his plate.

Will sees a lot of hope in the future, now. He has told Nico about all the medical schools he has done research on, and about how he thinks he might be able to get into the best one if he really focuses on cramming the theory. Nico doesn’t understand how the school system works, or the tests Will needs to take to be able to apply. The point is that Will is hopeful, and it’s catching on Nico, too.

If Nico lets himself be hopeful, if he lets himself believe that he might be able to stay in Camp Half-Blood indefinitely (the thought scares him a little), then he will have to accept the fact that he doesn’t have a good enough excuse not to let himself like Will. Will, who is silly and joyful and bright, a complete opposite of Nico himself. It’s weird. Will is also completely different from Percy, both from looks and who they are, making Nico wonder a little bit what he ever saw in Percy that made it so difficult to be around him.

(Being around Will is difficult, sometimes, too. But not because it hurts. It’s difficult because Nico has no idea how to keep himself from making a complete fool of himself in front of Will.)

Nico is so lost in his thoughts that it takes him a moment to realize that he can in fact recognize the song that has stated to play. He likes the guitar and the melody, and the voice of the singer is not too bad, either. Maybe he should write the name of the song down, so he doesn’t forget.

“We’ve already listened to this one”, Nico points out. It’s not like Will never plays the same song to him twice, but he’s sure he’s heard the song about a blackbird at least twice in the past half an hour.

“We have”, Will admits, “four times now, actually.” Wow, Nico has been deep inside his own head for longer than he intended to. Or maybe Will is tricking him. There is that strange tilt in Will’s voice again. Nico is starting to see a pattern there. “Did you know blackbirds were previously called colly birds? In really old English, I mean.”

Nico hadn’t known that. He seems to be learning a lot about birds, lately. Maybe Will really _is_ taking an interest in ornithology, after all. Nico thinks it could be an interesting hobby, but he himself would probably never be able to get too hyped up about birds too much. They’re nice, he supposes, but not quite nice enough to learn about their names and origins.

Music is a lot more interesting. And Will. Will is _definitely_ more interesting. Will taps his fingers on his knees in time with the music, and sometimes mouths along the words that Nico hasn’t yet learned by heart. When the song changes and the rhythm picks up, Will’s head nods along almost immediately, making his hair flop against his forehead in a way that Nico thinks probably tickles. Will sits so close to Nico that Nico can smell the laundry detergent on his clothes, the same one that everyone at camp uses, but for some reason it smells better on Will. The thought makes Nico blush.

Will plays Nico two more albums from the Beatles, one of them some kind of a best of –collection of their most popular songs. When the song about blackbirds plays again Will goes a little pink and says that time doesn’t count. Nico has no idea what he’s talking about.

During dinner, Nico sits with the Apollo cabin with a special permission slip from Chiron. Nico doesn’t know how Will did it, and all Will says is that it’s in everyone’s best interest if they want to avoid a zombie attack. Nico doesn’t ask more about it, just makes a mental note to do say sometime later. He’s just very glad he doesn’t have to sit alone anymore; he might not like large crowds, but he still prefers sitting with other people over sitting alone and being an easy target to stare at and feel sorry for. Will’s siblings are nice, they don’t ask too many questions Nico doesn’t want to answer, and Nico gets to stare at Will without seeming like a total creep. Nico can’t see a downside.

Nico sits with the Apollo campers at camp fire, too, even though this means he has to sit at the front row and be bullied into singing along to the two songs he has learned the lyrics to simply because he’s heard them so many times by now. Austin sings so loudly that Nico wouldn’t be able to hear Will’s off tune singing if they weren’t sitting so close to each other, their thighs almost touching and their shoulders bumping together all the time as Will sways to the music and tries to make Nico loosen up a little, too. Nico finds himself laughing and nudging Will’s shoulder in turn until they’re engaged in some sort of silly shoulder war that only ends with Will falling to the ground in defeat.

It’s a good day. Nico looks at the smoke from the fire as it flies higher up the sky and hides the stars as they start to come out. Will’s smile is catching, just like his hope is. It’s easy to be hopeful on a night like this.

Will joins Nico on his walk back to the cabins, just like he does most nights. Nico is helping tomorrow morning again in the infirmary, and Will reminds him to be there eight o’clock, sharp. Nico rolls his eyes and promises to be there by nine – that is, if he wakes up early enough to make it to breakfast.

 _Will is easy to like_ , Nico thinks when they reach the Apollo cabin that is much closer to the camp fire than the Hades cabin is. Will is smart, he knows a little bit about pretty much anything you can think of, and he’s constantly interested in learning more. He has a nice smile, and he smiles a lot, and he never makes you feel like he’s making fun of you. Even when Nico is being weird or doesn’t get a pop culture reference or says something that can be considered old fashioned, Will just says, “that’s interesting”, or, “I’ll tell you more about it on Friday”, or, “that’s a very good point, I’ve never thought about it like that”. 

“Wait here”, Will says now, darting up the steps to his cabin, “I’ve got something for you!”

It doesn’t hurt that Will is tall and tanned, or that he uses tank tops that show off his arms. Nico has never really had the time to consider these things, but he has learned to appreciate attractiveness in the past few weeks or so. He blushes and looks at his feet as he waits, hoping that no one passing by can guess what he’s thinking about too well. He’d probably die of embarrassment.

“Here.” Nico doesn’t realize Will has returned until he holds out a CD cover in front of his face. Nico takes it before it hits his nose. “I have two of these. You can have this one.”

Turning the cover around and looking at the list of songs, Nico guesses this is the CD Will said is his favorite. Why else would he have two of them? Nico sees that the blackbird song is on there, too. He thinks maybe he should learn it, just so that he can appreciate it a little more. It was a really good song.

“Thank you”, Nico says. He even manages one extra smile, even though he can feel it in his cheeks that he has been smiling a little more than usual today. It feels weird. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

Will shrugs and grins. “What would I do with two of them, anyway?” It’s a fair question.

It isn’t until Nico is going to sleep that he realizes he doesn’t even have a CD player to listen the album on. He hits himself in the face with a pillow.


	5. Five Golden Rings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the fifth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nico is a little slow, people, be patient with him. will is trying to be. (gosh i never thought i'd enjoy writing slow burn this much...)
> 
> as always, kudos and comments as well as bookmarks are much appreciated. you can also come yell at me on tumblr @significant-what

Will wakes Nico up early in the morning with a bag full of snacks and a smile that is way too bright for a morning. Nico just opens the door to him and flops back down on his bed with the intention to fall back asleep, but Will has other plans and Nico wants to hate him. He doesn’t.

“Come on, up and about with you! We have a lot of things to do before lunch.”

Why it has to be before lunch, Nico has no idea, and Will doesn’t explain it. He just throws Nico a pair of jeans and a hoodie from the floor and tells him to be outside on the porch in five minutes. It takes Nico four just to get out of bed again, and three more to get dressed and wash up.

“Finally!” Will grins when Nico steps out. “I’ve been waiting for _days_. Come on, I’ve packed us breakfast, we’ll eat on the road.”

“On the road to _where_?” is the first thing that Nico says out loud that day, but his question goes unanswered. Will grabs his hand and pulls him along, and it takes him a moment to realize that he’s _holding Will’s hand._

Nico doesn’t remember holding hands with many people. He held Hazel’s hand when he saved him from the Underworld, and has hold her hand a couple of times since then, too. But Hazel is his sister, and he briefly remembers holding hands with Bianca, too. Holding hands with your sister is normal, Nico supposes. Then there’s Piper, but he kind of views Piper as his sister, too. Or a friend. That’s still normal. Also; that only happened during the war, in extreme conditions, so that shouldn’t really even count.

Not many people hold hands around Camp Half-Blood. Nico knows that this has to do with the fact that their sword fighting instructor (Percy) tells them to always have their sword hand ready. While the camp itself is safe it’s still good to have certain habits even there. Holding hands just isn’t practical for people like them, and Nico hasn’t even thought too much about it. The only times he sees two people holding hands here is sometimes during camp fire, and when he sometimes catches people on what is definitely a date on the strawberry fields or walking around the canoe lake.

Having Will hold his hand has Nico’s mind going to a full stop. Two people holding hands is often very quickly seen as romantic, that much Nico knows. It’s a sign of affection. Nico doubts that’s why Will has chosen to hold his hand now, it’s probably just to make sure Nico follows and doesn’t head back to his cabin to continue sleeping. But still. Nico is holding hands with Will, and he can’t get over it.

(Nico doesn’t think he would mind holding hands with Will. You know, under different circumstances. It could actually be very nice. But no way is Nico telling Will that.)

Will lets go of Nico’s hand when they reach the edge of the forest – to Nico’s relief or disappointment, he can’t yet decide. He lets out a small sigh nevertheless and digs both of his hands to the pockets of his hoodie so he doesn’t have to think about it.

“What are we doing here?” Nico asks and watches Will dig through his bag. Will is weird, Nico has already accepted that, but lately he’s been acting even more weird than usual.

“We’re going on a treasure hunt!” Will beams at Nico and says this like it’s supposed to be an exciting revelation. It probably would be, Nico thinks, if he had any idea what a treasure hunt is. Will hands him a sandwich and grins so widely that Nico almost takes off. He’s not sure he wants to take part on any treasure hunts.

An hour later Nico has learned what a treasure hunt is, eaten half of the snacks Will brought with him, and decided that the next time they’re canoeing together Nico is going to push Will into the lake.

“I hate treasure hunts. Why did you make a treasure hunt?” Nico knows very well he’s never actually been on a treasure hunt before, but it seems like an appropriate think to whine about. So far he has not exactly liked his first one. “Or better yet, why did you hire the nymphs hide the treasures? We’re never going to find them at this rate.”

He’s not giving it a fair chance, Nico knows this. But he’s gotten maybe three full hours of sleep, his shoes are too small and he forgot to put socks on, and Will only brought healthy snacks. It’s like Will has never even heard of a candy bar. Also what kind of an idiot thinks that they can trust the nymphs with anything? The kind of idiot that Will is, apparently.

Will has prepared six treasures for them. _Six_. Nico thinks three would have been more than enough, as so far they have only found two. Both of them are some kind of metallic circlets a bit smaller than a crown in diameter, probably made of some cheap metal but spray painted in gold. Will keeps saying there’s a real point there, but Nico fails to see it. Maybe he’ll get it after they find the remaining four treasures.

The thing is, the forest that starts behind the cabins is smaller than people think. Nico has walked around it on his solitary walks in less than two hours. There are some places that are more difficult to pass, a small hill and thicket that’s full of sharp thorns, but it’s still quite easy. It’s easy to get lost in, too, but that’s mostly because the nymphs like to play tricks on campers and change the scenery as well as they’re able.

And that’s another thing. The nymphs like to play tricks. Some of them are easier to get along with, like Mellie Hedge, but Nico gets the feeling that most of them are just pure evil. They don’t bother Nico much (they’re likely afraid of him, or at least afraid of Hades), and they let him wander around pretty much freely; there are just a few twigs that tend to slap him in the face or some roots that suddenly come up to tackle him. Nico has gotten used to that, and he knows to anticipate it. But for someone like Will, who mostly sticks to the infirmary and the cleared camp grounds, the woods are a whole new world.

(Nico has to admire Will a little for being brave enough to try something like this. But mostly he just wishes that Will wouldn’t have bothered. Couldn’t the treasures have been hidden in the sword fighting arena, or behind the lava wall? Nico is sure the supply cabin in the infirmary would have made an excellent spot to hide stuff.)

“I found another!” Will exclaims and Nico looks past him in time to see another golden circlet, carelessly tossed on one of the branches. Seems like the nymphs got a little lazy with that one. “Three more to go! Having fun yet?”

Nico decides not to say anything.

It takes them another hour and a half to find the rest of the treasures, by which point Nico has gotten grumpy enough to make Will reveal his secret weapon: he _does_ , in fact, know what a candy bar is, and had brought one for Nico just for this particular occasion. Nico doesn’t know what to think. He hangs back when Will leads them to a clearing where they will “assemble the treasures”, whatever that means, and tries to keep his eyes on the ground so he can see where he’s going. Nico isn’t sure how he feels about the fact that Will knows him well enough to lure him along with a candy bar. It’s even his favorite kind. 

Will dumps their treasures to the ground and Nico shakes his head to clear his mind. There are five circlets in total, and a small pouch of something that has jingled annoyingly with every step Nico takes for the past half an hour.

“So”, Nico drops down on the ground next to the circlets and picks one up, setting it on his head as a crown. If Will is going to be dumb today then Nico can be, too. It’s just as good a justification as any in Nico’s books. “What are we going to be doing with all this junk? I assume you have a plan.”

Will rolls his eyes at Nico. Nico finds he has gotten used to that; Will does it a lot when they hang out. Nico isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or not. “This _junk_ ”, Will takes the pouch from the ground, “will be turned into a fine piece of art in just a few minutes. You’ll see.”

Nico doesn’t doubt him. If the painting of the three hens is any indication, Will’s idea of art is very open-minded. Nico is actually rather curious to see what happens. He finishes his candy bar as he watches Will empty the pouch on the grass next to the four remaining circlets. There are some small pieces of wire, a delicate chain, and a simple hook that could be maybe used to hang a small plant but not much else. Nico has no idea what’s going to happen, but he leans his elbows on his knees and watches closely. This might yet have been a nice morning, after all.

Will makes small rings from the wire, adjusting them around a twig to make them even and pretty. Nico watches as he attaches the chain to one of the circlets, then joins the other three circlets to the first one with the rings he made.

“What is it, a wind chime or something?” Nico asks, furrowing and tilting his head to the side, trying to figure it out. A wind chime is the only thing Nico can think of, but then again, Will has a much better imagination than he does. The thing could be literally anything.

Will gets up and holds the whole thing up, hanging it on the chain.

“Exactly! Come on”, Will gestures Nico to stand up and stand next to him, and while Nico is still a bit wary about the whole thing, he does as he is asked. Will’s eyes have that look again when he steps closer to Nico, and Nico wants to say he knows what to expect but he _doesn’t_.

“We put this last one”, Will reaches and takes the last of the circlets off Nico’s head, bringing them so close that Nico is afraid Will is going to hear how fast his heart is beating, “here.” The circlet fits into place just as well as the other four, and Nico can see it now. It’s beautiful, in a weird way, and without thinking Nico leans closer to Will to look at the gold against the midday sun.

Will was right, it _is_ a treasure. A weird kind of treasure that made them work a little bit too hard for Nico’s liking (and Nico still doesn’t understand why he had to wake up so early), and to be fair, a wind chime is not the first thing Nico would have guessed he would be making today. But the circlets are beautiful. Five golden circlets, clinking against each other, and the sound isn’t too sharp or too loud, but just enough.

“And together”, Will continues, his voice muted down to an almost whisper, “they form – “

“Five golden rings.” Nico’s voice is equally soft as his breath catches in his throat. He knows this one. He’s heard it before. He feels clammy and there’s a static in his ears that drowns out any external sounds.

Will is so close to him now that when they turn to look at each other their foreheads almost touch. Nico wants to lean in but can barely move. _Four_ _colly_ _birds_ , it had been the day before, in the unconventional form of playing an old classic song on repeat. _Three French hens_ in that truly hideous painting Will had commissioned from Hazel, _two turtle doves_ they made together from scrap metal. It’s been such a long time since Nico heard this that it took him five days to realize, but now that he thinks about the Polaroid picture on his desk he hears the tune in his ears, clear as day. _And a partridge in a pear tree_.

Nico can hear his own heart beat in his ears, almost drowning out the sound of the rings clinking together in front of him. All the birds of the past few days make sense now, but that’s about it. Instead of answering his questions, remembering the old Christmas carol has made Nico even more confused.

Nico needs to take a step back and breathe, but he can’t. Will’s eyes are gluing him to the spot, or maybe his feet have turned into lead, or, yes, it’s totally possible that Nico has been paralyzed from the waist down. Nothing makes sense anymore, so what is one thing more? But Nico really needs some space because he can’t breathe, and he just hopes than Will would do that thing where he reads his mind effortlessly and move back, just a little bit.

Will does take half a step back. (Nico would freak out about the intuitive act, but he thinks he’s already half way into an actual panic attack.) He’s smiling that pretty smile of his and Nico wants to slap him, because apparently that’s a reaction he has when he sees something he likes a little too much. Will’s eyes are very blue. Have they always been that blue? Nico is going crazy. Maybe counting Will’s freckles will calm him down? Nico tries that and fails. Spectacularly.

“You’re starting to get it.” And Will sounds so happy about that, _so happy_ , that Nico doesn’t have the heart to tell him that he has absolutely no idea what is going on anymore.

That night, Nico lays awake in his bed and listens to the sound of the metallic rings clinking together on the Hades cabin porch. On any other day the sound would be soothing, in a way, or at the very least it would be nice. But Nico is confused and Will hasn’t explained anything to him, and he just wants to throw the damn wind chime back to the woods and never think about it again.


	6. Six Geese a-Laying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the sixth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> silly boys. soft boys. excuse me while i go barf. they're too cute for their own good.
> 
> also nico's mind started going a hundred miles a minute while i was writing this and i tried to calm him down but he wouldn't listen. so. enjoy the rambles. i know i do.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and Nico is confused and terrified. The damn Christmas carol has been stuck in his head for hours, playing on repeat since he stood next to Will in the woods and looked at the wind chime and he connected the dots.

Nico feels a little bit stupid. He feels like he should have figured the whole thing out a long time ago, that Will has expected him to catch on quicker than this. But the truth is, Nico is a little annoyed about that. It’s not like he’s been waiting around for someone to do something this elaborate for him, especially not someone he’s barely known for a few months. (It feels like a lot longer; it’s always felt like he’s known Will for years rather than months.)

Bianca used to sing that song. Nico can’t remember it clearly, but he’s very sure she did. A song that felt like it went on and on and _on_ , the verses growing in length the further the song went. There is a faint memory of Bianca with her hair in two plaits, humming that song. The last line, over and over, until it feels like the partridge is mocking Nico for some reason. 

Nico turns to look at the Polaroid picture Will gave him, the colors of the partridge looking beautiful next to the green of the tree leaves. How _didn’t_ he get it at first? It feels so obvious now. When Nico looks back on the moment, he remembers Will being very specific with his wording, clearly expecting Nico to get it right away. How could Nico _not_ have gotten it? It’s not like _a partridge in a pear tree_ is something that comes up in conversation – or in the woods, according to Will – that often. 

This morning Nico has spent his time looking over each of the gifts Will has given him, turning them in his hands and wondering if there’s something he’s missed, something that could have tipped him off before yesterday. He had noticed the number 1 behind the Polaroid before, but there’s a small dented 2 in one of the wings of the bird Will made, and a number 3 next to Hazel’s signature on the painting. There’s a slip of paper behind the Beatles album cover with a drawn 4 on it, and obviously, there were five of the golden rings on the wind chime.

This whole thing must have taken Will _so much_ time and thought. Nico feels a little difficult about it. This is only day six, but Nico has no doubt Will is going to go through all the steps in the song.

What Nico is also aware is that there are multiple versions on how the song can be sung. He’s sure he’s heard of an alternative line for _two turtle doves_ , at least, and if Nico’s records are correct, they’re still on day six. Anything can happen. He’s a little scared of what is yet to come, as there are some disturbing things imagined in the song.

(Nico is a little curious about _nine drummers drumming_ and hopes he’ll still have his hearing when that day is over.)

The part that makes all the difference, though, is the very beginning. It also leaves Nico most confused, as neither of the versions he knows makes any sense. The first version is about a mother sending gifts to her child. Nico seriously doubts this one, as that would not fit Will’s sense of humor at all. And it would be stupid. Also Will has taken this all way too seriously for it to just be one elaborate joke, that’s for sure. Now that Nico thinks back on it he’s quite sure Will got at least a little bit mad when Nico didn’t get the point of the painting of the three French hens. Nico wants to feel a little bad, but then again, the painting was seriously ugly. He can’t be blamed for not thinking about any hidden meanings.

The second version of the lyrics make even less sense to Nico. Not only because, well, why would anyone send these kinds of gifts to anyone, really? But also because this version talks about true love, and surely Will can’t be meaning _that_ one.

But what if he does? Nico isn’t sure he likes the idea of that. Not because he can’t see himself falling in love with someone or even that someone being Will. It’s just – they've hold hands. Once. And Will started this whole gift giving thing long before the hand holding even happened. Nico might like Will, kind of a lot even, but Nico has never even given a thought to the possibility that Will might like him back. That’s not how it works; Nico is supposed to like someone who will never like him back, and then he’s supposed to be miserable. Right?

 _Right_?

Nico is still thinking about this when, after dinner, all the campers make their way to the beach to catch the fire works most of Hephaestus cabin has been working on for weeks. Will somehow just appears at Nico’s side, and it takes Nico a moment to remember that they had agreed to go see the fire works together, back when they were working on the turtle doves in Bunker 9. It occurs to Nico that even then, Will had been planning these things, probably thinking that Nico would understand the meaning behind the gifts long before New Year’s Eve. Nico still isn’t sure if he’s more sorry or mad.

“I haven’t seen you all day”, Will says when they fall a little behind from the rest of the group and Nico doesn’t immediately start up a conversation.

“I know.” Nico hasn’t exactly been avoiding Will. Can it be called avoiding if their schedules wouldn’t have matched today in the first place and Nico just didn’t go out of his way to seek Will out when he had the time? Maybe it can. _That_ Nico is a little bit sorry about. He bumps his shoulder against Will’s as an apology and hopes Will can read between the lines better than Nico can. “At least we can catch up now.”

Will smiles at that. Nico counts it as a win and looks down at his feet, trying to hide his own smile to the collar of his jumper.

Most of the campers gather around the pier, making a lot of noise and goofing around in a way Nico has never learned to. Nico stays back, and Will stays with him. Nico would feel a little bad about making Will miss all the fun he could have, but then again, he didn’t exactly ask Will to stay with him, did he? He’s glad that he did, though.

They stand together in a rather awkward silence for a while. Nico looks out to the pier, and he can see silhouettes of other campers there, pushing each other and trying to make someone fall into the water. A little further away Nico can see a raft that he knows floats Jake, Harley, and one other Hephaestus camper and a huge box of the finest fire works they were able to make in just five days. Nico is kind of excited to see what they have come up with; he doesn’t remember when was the last time he watched any kind of fire works.

A tap on Nico’s shoulder makes him turn to look at Will – or rather, what he can see of him in the dark. Darkness and shadows have always been Nico’s friends, even when they are also his worst enemies, so he feels comfortable in the dark. He knows by now that he can see in the dark a little better than most people can, but even he can’t see well enough to read the look on Will’s face properly.

“Come on.” Will doesn’t take Nico’s had like he did yesterday. He looks more shy tonight, and Nico can’t pinpoint what it is exactly but there is something brewing in the air. It’s like they’re both waiting on something, Nico just doesn’t know what it is. Will jerks his head towards a big rock a little further away from the crowd. “I want to show you something.”

Will starts walking towards the rock, and he takes a quick peek around his shoulder after a few steps, as if to see if Nico is actually following him or not. Some other time, maybe a few weeks ago, Nico isn’t sure he would have. Not when he still didn’t know Will well enough, not when there wasn’t this strange something hanging in the air between them. Now, though, Nico can’t think of anything more natural than following Will, leaving the noise and the commotion behind him.

They walk slowly and in silence, in no hurry and without a need to talk. While Nico doesn’t like loud noises or many people talking at once, he finds a too deep silence uncomfortable too. But silences with Will rarely make him uneasy or anxious, not the way the silence in his solitary cabin does in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep. 

Once they reach the rock Will guides them around it. There he stops and points to a small hook on the beach where the ground rises above the sea level, creating a bridge to something that’s almost a tiny island with one bush and a young birch tree. At first Nico doesn’t know what he’s looking at, but then Will leans closer to show him a spot almost hidden under the bush. “There.”

Nico thinks he should have guessed. “ _Six geese a-laying_.”

Will lets out a huff of laughter. He seems nervous. “I mean, it’s winter. They’re not exactly laying, and I’m almost certain five of them are males, anyway. But six geese, though.”

That makes Nico laugh, too. It feels silly to think, now, that he thought Will would actually have taken an actual interest in birds. Nico thinks it’s a testament to how much Will knows about birds at all that he can’t tell male geese from females. Even _Nico_ knows the difference.

“Close enough”, Nico still says, because really, what are the odds that Will would even find six geese today of all days from the restricted area they have available?

That’s when the first of the fire works explode. Nico turns his eyes to the rift, and above that there is a wonderful burst of colors, much more vibrant that Nico thought possible. Something that feels a lot like a giggle makes its way up his throat, and he swallows before he can embarrass himself too badly. Another burst of color, this time pink and purple, and Nico thinks it almost looks like the dark blue sky has a big bruise on it. He thinks it’s hilarious, and he turns to Will to tell him about it.

Will is already looking at him, though. He’s not looking at the fire works, or even the cheering campers. He’s looking at Nico, and he has an odd look in his eyes, and Nico can feel his breath leave him like he is punched in the gut.

Nico wants to be brave enough to just say _what the hell_ and kiss Will, right there and then. He really does. The words almost make it up to his throat, but he swallows them back. Nico is not brave, not like this. He can face death and war and monsters and come out of that somewhat a winner, but this he can’t do, not that easily anyway. This kind of bravery is meant for heroes like Jason, and Annabeth, and perhaps even Malcolm or Jake or Katie.

And Will. Turns out Will is one of those heroes, too. Later, when Nico thinks about this again, it doesn’t really surprise him. Still it comes to him as a surprise, though, that Will has the courage to take that one necessary step closer to Nico and offer the kiss Nico so desperately wants, without as much as a word.

Nico has never kissed anyone. He has no idea how this is supposed to work. In theory, he knows that Will is no professional, either, that even if Will has kissed someone else before he can’t possibly have all the information the world has to offer about kissing and related subjects. Theoretically Nico knows this, but it still makes him very insecure when all he can do himself is follow Will’s lead and try to focus on not passing out at the same time.

Nico doesn’t have experience, but he still thinks Will is a good kisser. At least it feels nice to Nico. Will’s lips are soft, and Nico knows for a fact that Will uses a vanilla flavor lip balm so he knows to expect the taste. Sometime during the kiss Will even takes Nico’s hand, a lot gentler than he did yesterday, and this time Nico has the courage to actually link their fingers together. 

It’s a short kiss, or it lasts for just a regular amount of time, how would Nico know, but it’s more than okay. He leans back and opens his eyes, because it was like a reflex to close them when their lips first met, and Will’s face is close to his. It’s already dark, so Nico can’t see Will’s freckles despite the proximity, but Nico knows they’re there so it’s just as well.

Will smiles and bites his lip, making Nico look at his mouth again. Nico wants to kiss him again, even though they literally just did. A little hesitantly Nico leans closer again, tightening his hold on Will’s fingers as a silent request not to run away, and Will meets him half way, slotting their lips together again. Nico thinks this feeling is something he could get used to. He doesn’t know what it is yet, just that he likes it, and that it has something to do with Will, and only Will. No one has ever made him feel quite like this before.

Their second kiss lasts a little bit longer than the first, but it’s still over rather quickly. When Nico opens his eyes this time Will is already looking at him and smiling that stupidly nice smile of his that makes Nico’s heart skip – oh. _That’s_ what it is. (Nico feels a little stupid again.)

“Happy New Year, Nico”, Will whispers, and Nico has a hard time hearing it over the cheers sounding from the pier. 

Nico’s stomach clenches uncomfortably at that. Of course. Nico is aware of the tradition to kiss someone to welcome the new year. He doesn’t know what the tradition is based on, if it’s for good luck or something, and right now he doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know if you’re supposed to kiss someone special on New Year’s, or if just anyone will do. Could Nico have read the situation so wrong? Is a New Year’s kiss all Will wants from him, after all?

(No, Nico knows in his heart, it can’t be. He knows this. And yet for a short moment it feels so hard to believe that there ever was anything else there at all.)

Nico almost leans back and lets go of Will’s hand, but as if reading his thoughts, Will squeezes Nico’s fingers and dives in for another kiss. Nico is a little surprised by it, but this one lasts long enough for him to recover and respond in kind, leaning his whole body closer to Will’s and breathing through his nose because he just doesn’t want the kiss to end. It’s a little intoxicating, not standing to be too near to anyone at first and then suddenly wanting to get as close to someone as possible. Nico thinks that Will must have been very patient with him, if this has been the reward all along. He doesn’t think he could have waited this long, had he known.

Somewhere along the kiss Nico is sure he can feel Will smile. It’s a strange feeling, not much unlike kissing itself, just different. It makes him feel a little giddy, knowing that kissing him makes Will smile. Nico smiles, too, and soon kissing becomes a little difficult as they just stand there, bumping noses and pressing their smiles together. The fire works keep exploding in the background but Nico doesn’t turn to look.


	7. Seven Swans a-Swimming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the seventh day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm one day late. i apologize. my christmas break started on wednesday and i've been trying to get all my school work done so that i can focus on christmas when i go home from college on sunday this week.
> 
> if it helps, this is my absolute favourite chapter of all these. i really want to know what you think!

Nico’s head is still swimming when he wakes up the next morning and remembers that he actually kissed _Will_ last night. And Will kissed _him_. And they _kissed_. And that if Will’s smile and the peck on his cheek Nico got when Will walked him to his cabin afterwards is any indication, Will is going to want to kiss him again, for a yet undefined amount of time. That just makes no _sense_.

For once, though, Nico doesn’t care if it makes sense or not. He’s just going to roll with it. He’s never had this kind of luck before, and if he one day wakes up and discovers that it has all been some long, very detailed dream then he’s going to deal with that. Maybe it’s got something to do with Will’s optimism rubbing off on Nico, but Nico doesn’t think he should worry about something that might not even happen if he’s happy _right now_. He can worry about other things.

But Nico is happy. It’s a weird feeling. Nico doesn’t remember being happy in a long time, at least not like this. He’s had good days and better days in the past months, and he’s had very good moments with people he is slowly starting to consider his friends. But he wouldn’t go as far as saying that he’s been happy. There has been too much bad things happening since he and Bianca were dumped in the Lotus Casino, there hasn’t simply been enough time for Nico to feel anything more than sorrow, depression, confusion and rage. Usually in that order, rinse and repeat.

Being happy is not something Nico is used to, but he finds that he kind of likes it. He likes that he doesn’t have to force himself to smile when he sees Will smirking at him across the dining pavilion during breakfast. He likes that his mind isn’t filled with thoughts of what he’s lost and will never have again, but with Will and Will’s smile and the way it felt when Will kissed him last night. What Nico _doesn’t_ like that much are the butterflies in his stomach, but that’s a small price to pay for the other things.

Nico sits at his desk and watches the gifts he’s gotten from Will so far – the ones he can keep there, at least. He tries humming a simple tune to make the metallic turtle doves move, but so far he’s only managed to make one of them turn it’s pretty head a little. He wonders if he could find a frame small enough to hang the Polaroid picture on his wall properly, next to the drawings Hazel has sent him.

The painting of the hens is propped up against the wall, and Nico seriously doesn’t have a clue of what he should do with it. He _really_ doesn’t want to put it up. What bothers him is that the painting is also a gift from Will, and Hazel’s handiwork on top of that, so he can’t just get rid of it. For the time being, Nico moves the painting behind his desk lamp; this way it’s still on display, kind of, but he can’t really look at it for too long without getting a headache. It’s a compromise that should work until Nico figures out a better solution.

Nico leans back on his chair, and just then he can hear a whistle outside, just behind his door. The turtle doves hear it too, it seems, as they come to life. The whistle only lasts long enough for the birds to fly a lap around the table lamp and then settle back down, but it’s enough to make Nico bite back a smile. He gets up, walks to the door and opens it, already assuming a suitably amused look.

“Most people just knock, you know.”

“Well, you know by now that I’m not _most people_ ”, Will grins. No, he definitely isn’t anything like most people. He’s a dork who announces his presence with a whistle and comes by Hades cabin wearing silly jumpers and carrying a tie-dyed bag. “Do you know how to make origami?”

It might be a weird question, but in the last week or so Nico has learned to expect the unexpected from Will. And Will _is_ weird, there’s no question of that, but Nico likes weird. Or at least he likes Will, and that’s almost the same thing.

Nico shakes his head. He knows what origami is but he has never had the chance or the time to learn. It’s always been interesting to him, though, and a part of him is very intrigued to see if Will is here to teach him. (The other part hopes that Will has come to kiss him again, but he’s not letting himself hope too much. _Good things come to those who wait_ , is what Mellie always says. Nico isn’t used to being an optimist, but he can always try.)

“Here, I’ll show you.” Will makes an awkward shuffle, as if non-verbally asking Nico if it’s okay to come in.

Nico hesitates; two campers really aren’t supposed to be alone in a cabin together. They’ve gotten a little leeway from Chiron before, but for some reason Nico doesn’t think Will’s visit will count as strictly educational this time. They didn’t exactly talk about the kiss (well, _kisses_ , in plural) last night, what they meant – not that Nico thinks it really needs that much explaining. But _should_ they talk? Should Chiron be made aware of any change that has occurred? Nico has no idea what the camp policy about these things is. He’s never had to give it even half a thought.

Nico bites his lip. He doesn’t want to get in trouble. (It’s weird, how desperately he wants to obey the rules at camp. He just wants to belong.) He looks past Will’s shoulder around the court yard. Nico can’t see anyone there, and even though he knows that isn’t any guarantee that no one _is_ there, he deems it safe for Will to enter without being seen.

“Come on.” Nico steps aside, grabs Will’s hand before he can talk himself out of it, then pulls Will inside quickly and closes the door. His heart is beating wildly in his chest, and when he looks up he can see that Will is blushing. Nico drops Will’s hand as he feels his own face start heating up and clears his throat. “So. Origami?”

Will ducks his head. “Ah, yes. Here.” Will walks to Nico’s desk and starts rummaging around his bag. “I already made a few”, he says as he pulls put some folded papers, each a different color, adjusts them a little and then sets them on the table in a row, six in total. “Would you like me to show you how I made these?”

They’re cranes. In theory, Nico knows they’re not too hard to make. “Sure.”

Will pulls out a small stack of thin paper, already cut into perfect squares. There are at least a dozen different colors. “Pick one.”

Nico chooses a deep green one, them pulls out another chair so that he and Will can sit side by side by the desk. Will takes the chosen paper and gets to work, his fingers working steadily on the paper as he carefully explains each fold to Nico. Nico is not hoping to be able to make a paper crane after this, but he does enjoy watching Will at work. Will has been doing origami a lot – or at least he has made a lot of cranes – and it shows.

While he folds the paper in ways Nico can’t even comprehend the reason for, Will talks about how his brother Michael taught him how to make these. Nico knows that Michael died a few years ago, during the Battle of Manhattan. Will doesn’t talk about the deaths of his brothers, but he sometimes tells Nico funny stories about them, making Nico wish him and Hazel could have grown up close like the Apollo kids.

“Now, just the finishing touch”, Will says and shows Nico how to fold one of the parts poking out so that it looks like a bird’s beak, then turns the wings out and down. “Ta-da!”

Will puts the new bird next to the others. It fits right in; now there’s seven of them in total. Nico thinks origami is kind of marvelous, the way you can take a piece of paper and turn it into something else entirely. There’s a nice symbolism in that. He wonders if Will knows how to make other animals, too, and if one day he’d show Nico how to make them, too.

“I know they’re cranes, really, and not swans.” Will fiddles with his fingers, then nervously adjusts one of the origami birds on the table. “But in the end, it’s the thought that counts, right?”

Nico looks at the palm-sized cranes. He has seen these kinds of paper birds before, in a time he’d rather forget. One of the boys in Westover Hall was practically obsessed with them, turning every slip of paper he could find into a paper crane and leaving them everywhere. _A nervous tick_ , Bianca said it was, but Nico didn’t understand it back then. He’s learned a lot about nervous ticks since then, he thinks. Whatever happened to that boy, Nico has no idea, but he hopes he still knows how to make cranes. They’re quite nice.

Nico takes one of the cranes in his hand, brings if closer to his face and thinks. Origami cranes do look a lot like swans, Will is right about that. Real ones don’t, not so much. Nico remembers seeing cranes flying over Camp Jupiter last spring, and then later seeing swans in Europe. Personally, he likes swans better. There’s something very nice about how they’re so white, like nothing they touch could tarnish them. Nico has also heard that swans are fearless, that they’ll attack anyone if they feel even a little bit threatened, and they can do much damage, too. Maybe it’s creepy, but Nico thinks he would one day like to see a swan attack. It would be cool.

Idly, Nico bends the crane’s neck a little bit, trying to be gentle enough not to ruin Will’s hard work. He softens the angle, adds another fold to soften the curve, then looks at the wings. Funnily enough, they remind him of the turtle dove wings they worked on only days before; the thought makes Nico smile as he folds the wings again, too, making them look a little more like they’re tucked to the bird’s side. He has no idea what to do with the tail, though, short of cutting it, so he just bends it in half and adds a small piece of tape to hold it in place.

“There”, Nico gently puts the origami bird back on the table with the rest. “ _Now_ it’s a swan.”

When Nico looks up, Will’s face looks strange. Not strange as in deformed – no, Will’s face is just as nice as before, in Nico’s opinion. His eyes, though, are extremely intense, he’s biting his lip, and it almost looks like he’s frowning.

Nico panics. He shouldn’t have touched the paper cranes. How incredibly rude, taking something Will made for him and modifying it into something else. Nico’s eyes drop to the desk and he blushes. Will must think he’s an idiot. All Nico can hope now is that he can still fix the bird, turn it into a crane again. Maybe Will won’t be too mad if he fixes it. How fortunate that Nico didn’t, in fact, cut the tail, then the bird would have been unsalvageable.

“Sorry”, Nico mumbles, “I’ll fix it back. It’ll take just a second – Will?”

Will’s hand is warm when it cups Nico’s cheek and pulls gently, forcing Nico to turn to look at him again. Will’s eyes are still intense, but Nico doesn’t see the frown that he was so sure was there only seconds before. And he’s close. Damn. Will is almost as close as he was last night on the beach, he’s - he’s kissing Nico. Oh wow.

If possible, kissing Will is a lot better now than it was last night. Nico kind of knows what to expect now, so he doesn’t spend too much time fumbling around. Instead he can match Will’s movements from the start, even if it only means kind of nuzzling together and not pulling back. (Kissing is _so_ weird.) Nico really likes Will, and he likes kissing Will, and he can only hope that Will likes kissing him half as much. Even a little bit would be a win in Nico’s books.

When Will pulls back from the kiss, he does it slowly, a little like wanting to stay that close for as long as possible. Nico almost follows his lips, wanting to feel them against his a little bit longer, but that would be pathetic. Right? So Nico stays put, tries not to sigh stupidly. He’s glad to notice that Will doesn’t go far, anyway, and that he doesn’t take his hand from Nico’s face. Is it possible that Will wants to stay close to Nico, too? Nico barely dares to hope, even though realistically he can see all the signs. He’s always been a little pessimistic.

“That was so cool”, Will says quietly. Nico looks up to see Will’s smile, not too far away from his own. “The thing you did with the origami, I mean. Though the kissing was pretty cool, too.” Nico is blushing so hard that he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to recover from this. He’ll have to stay inside for the rest of his life so that no one can see him. Maybe Will can join him. “And I do like swans better than cranes.” Will’s smile turns playful. “Serves the purpose better, don’t you think?”

 _Seven swans a-swimming_. That’s how the next line goes. For some reason, Nico wasn’t thinking the silly song at all when Will was setting the cranes on the desk. He feels like he should have guessed – after all, this is almost all he’s been thinking about all day. (Plus kissing Will, but that is sort of related.)

Will still hasn’t really explained this to Nico, what he hopes to accomplish with the gifts. They’re nice, sure, and now that Nico knows to expect them it’s fun to try and guess what Will has come up with for each line of the song (so far Will has been rather clever). When Nico thinks about what the reason for the gifts is in the song, he can’t help but hope a little bit that that’s what Will is going for. But just a little bit, because, uh, hello, that’s fast. True love? Nico isn’t even sure he believes in such a thing.

(It would be nice, though, having Will and somehow just knowing it’s true love. Nico has heard of an old story, about people originally having four arms and four legs and so on, and Zeus then cutting them in half, thus creating something people now call soulmates. Nico knows a lot of myths are true, or have a base in truth, but so far he hasn’t found any indication that this one would be real. He kind of hopes it was. It would make things a little bit easier.)

Nico takes a deep breath before dipping forward quickly to leave the world’s fastest kiss on Will’s lips. It leaves his own lips tingly and warm. “Will you show me again? How to make one of these?” Nico can feel his blush deepen but doesn’t dare look away. “I, um, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention. The last time you did.”

Will’s smile is so bright Nico thinks he might go blind if he keeps staring at it. He doesn’t particularly care.


	8. Eight Maids a-Milking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the eighth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> eight maids a-milking  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know nothing about cows. i don't even particularly like cows. every fact in this here chapter is based on two links i found from the marvelous world of google and that i already lost so i can't link them here. i think they were both commercial, so they might not even be correct. oh well.
> 
> i am very sorry about this. i hope the ending of the chapter makes up for it.

Kissing is definitely the weirdest thing Nico can think of right now. (Mostly because he can barely think of anything _but_ kissing when Will’s lips are against his, but that’s whatever.) Whoever thought that smashing mouths together would be enjoyable? Maybe it’s all the hype that’s been built around kissing, making it almost mythical, something out of this world with hidden meanings. Whatever it is, it makes kissing feel nice, and when Nico pulls back his lips are all tingly and Will’s are redder than usual. Nico wants to kiss him all over again but restrains himself.

“Good morning”, Nico replies to Will’s earlier words and ducks his face. Will has gotten him off guard, and Nico isn’t sure how he feels about kissing on the porch of the Hades cabin like this, all out in the open. Sure, everyone else is having breakfast in the dining pavilion already, so it’s not like anyone even saw them kissing just now. Still, this just means Will is going to drag Nico late to breakfast, and that’s just as bad, because everyone will just take one look at Nico’s face and _know_.

“Do you know what day it is?” Will asks and takes Nico’s hand while stepping off the porch backwards. Nico thinks it’s rather impressive, because he himself can barely remember how his legs work after the kiss.

“Uh, Tuesday?”

It’s as good a guess as any, and Nico can only hope that he got the week day right. He’s pretty sure that’s not what Will is after, but right now he can’t think of anything else. Maybe it’s kiss someone silly –day? That would make a lot of sense, honestly.

“Nope”, Will says, and Nico feels a little bad. “I mean yes, okay, it’s Tuesday, but it’s the eighth day of Christmas!”

Oh. That. Nico was not prepared for that. “Right.” Will hasn’t done the others like this. He has given the gifts first, then stated the day. Why is this different? Nico doesn’t understand. Is there something special about the eight day? As far as Nico can tell, the fifth was the only one that was sung differently. “And - and what’s the eighth day, again?”

“Eight maids a-milking.”

Nico stumbles over his own feet and would have fallen down if Will wasn’t holding his hand. It’s a little embarrassing. “Right.” Nico knows he’s repeating himself, but milking? As in, milking cows? What is Will up to? And how is Nico supposed to react to that?

“I originally had this grand plan of bringing actual cows to camp”, Will explains as they walk, “but, well, that turned out to be quite problematic. We have surprisingly many vegans here, and I don’t want to risk their wrath about drinking cow milk even though that is _so_ not what this is about. Plus, turns out that Lady Hera isn’t very fond of any of us, in general, and I’d rather have my sneakers far away from cow poop, thank you very much.”

Nico, too, remembers Annabeth telling them about that particular incident (well, series of incidents, in fact) and snickers. “Yeah, that’s maybe a good idea.”

Will gives his hand a small squeeze. Nico doesn’t know if he should return it or not, so he just twitches his fingers awkwardly. It seems to be good enough.

“So I came up with an alternative!” Will continues. “This was the hardest one, I swear. I didn’t want it to be horrible or tacky.” Nico doesn’t mention the painting. “I consulted my advisors, and we came up with a plan that I think will be quite fun. Nico di Angelo, I am going to tell you cow facts.”

By advisors Nico assumes Will means Cecil and Jake, who Nico suspects have been helping Will out with all of these. There have probably been other people, too, including Hazel, and maybe Malcolm. Nico doesn’t like to think how big of a deal this is. “Cow facts?”

“You know, fun facts about cows. Like, for example, did you know that dairy cows have four stomachs?”

Nico did, in fact, know that already. He can’t remember how; he just does. He thinks it’s weird how human brain can absorb information without remembering their origin. “So, you’re going to tell me eight of those facts – now? Or all throughout the day?”

“Well, seven now, that was the first one I had memorized.” This is the point where Nico realizes they’re taking a longer route to the dining pavilion, arriving from the back so that not too many people will notice unless someone points them out. Nico is extremely relieved, to his surprise. He hadn’t realized being seen together like this would be such a big deal to him. “But yeah, I’m going to tell you the rest when I feel like it, and you’ll never see them coming!”

Nico believes him. Will is by far the most surprising person he has yet met.

Will lets go of Nico’s hand when they get near the Apollo table. Nico doesn’t think about all the different emotions this stirs in him, the good or the bad. There are a lot. Will’s siblings have left two places for them at the end of the table, so they don’t have to walk across the pavilion and make everyone look at them. Nico wonders if Will told them to do that or if it’s just a fortunate coincidence.

After breakfast, Will goes to the infirmary – like always – and Nico heads to the sword fighting arena. No one really dares to challenge him these days, except for Percy and Jason, sometimes Piper, but all of them are busy now, so Nico gets to spend his morning hitting a dummy and pretending it’s Cupid. That’s what he usually does when he has to hit something, since he’s learned that he takes fighting practice a lot more seriously if he imagines someone he really doesn’t like.

During lunch, Will sits next to Nico at the table and supervises Nico’s food consumption. Nico has been doing his best, but apparently his best isn’t what is recommended for a male human his age. He watches in horror as once again Will puts entirely too much food on his plate and tells him he needs to eat at least half of it.

“I believe in you, Nico!” Will teases. Nico knows from experience that Will won’t make him eat more than he can actually muster, but the fact that he would be letting Will down makes him try to eat more every time. Maybe that’s what Will is counting on. “A milking cow eats about 100 pounds of feed every single day – you can manage a few potatoes and a handful of meatballs.”

Nico wants to point out that there’s a slight size difference between himself and a milking cow, but he knows that’s hardly the point here. He knows Will well enough to understand that Will just wants to make him smile (and throw around random cow facts, as is the day’s theme), and even though it still doesn’t come naturally, a smile is an easy thing to gift Will. The food is good, that’s not an issue either, but there is just so much of it that Nico barely manages to eat a little over half of it before he just has to stop or he thinks he’ll throw up.

Will’s beaming grin is worth it, every time. “I’m so proud of you, Nico!” _That’s nice to hear, too_. “Now, two glasses of water to top it. Did you know that a cow that is milking drinks about 30 to 50 gallons of water every day?”

A thought strikes Nico literally out of nowhere. It has nothing to do with cows or drinking water. It has everything to do with Will and how he looks so pleased with himself. _Will is so cute_. Nico doesn’t think he’s ever thought that about anyone else before, not consciously anyway. But Will is. So cute. The thought makes Nico blush and duck his head down as he reaches for his glass.

“What?” Will asks. Nico doesn’t look up, but he’s pretty sure Will is still smiling. “What’s with that look?”

“Nothing.” It comes out a little bit quicker than is strictly necessary, but Nico doesn’t care. He’s not ready to tell Will what he was thinking. He gulps down his half empty glass of water, then wipes his face to the back of his hand in a way he knows annoys Will. “Do you have one more silly fact for me before I head to the stables?”

Nico looks up just in time to see Will narrow his eyes. It looks funny. Maybe even a little cute, but mostly funny. “You just want to have these facts over and done with sooner, don’t you?”

 _Definitely_. “What, me? _No_. You know I find cows extremely interesting.”

Sarcasm hasn’t ever worked on Will before, and Nico isn’t expecting it to work this time, either. It doesn’t. All it does is make Will roll his eyes and sigh in defeat.

“You’re lucky I like you”, Will says, and Nico’s life leaves his body. Will has never said it like that before, so straight forward, plain and simple. Is this what dying feels like? “Okay. There are six main breeds of dairy cows. I’m not going to tell you which ones they are because I didn’t have time to memorize them.”

Nico seriously hopes Will isn’t going to quiz him on these facts later, because when he walks to the stables he realizes he can’t remember any of them. All that he can fit in his head is _Will likes me Will likes me Will LIKES me._

Technically, yes, Nico knew that already. Like, he was pretty sure Will liked him after the first time they kissed, and every time since then. It shouldn’t be such big news to him, right? And it isn’t, kind of. (Nico almost walks right into a tree as he is deep in thought.) Maybe it’s that no one has ever outright said that they like Nico, not ever. Is that even something that people do? Nico knows from his pop culture lectures from Will that Hollywood has made a big deal about telling someone you love them, and Nico thinks he can understand _that_. _Love_ is a big word. _Like_ is smaller, but is declaring your like for someone really necessary? Shouldn’t that much be obvious through actions?

Nico is in no way an expert in this. (Maybe that’s his biggest problem, after all.) But he thinks, in retrospect, that Will’s feelings have been quite clear, if not from the Polaroid picture then at least from the turtle doves. Maybe Nico even should have noticed something before; Will has been very adamant in spending time with him all autumn and early winter, not backing off even when he has surely noticed that Nico isn’t really all that interesting.

So yes, Nico thinks as he takes on the dull task of cleaning Blackjack’s stable, maybe he should have noticed earlier that Will likes him. A lot earlier. Maybe one day he can laugh about this, but right now he mostly feels embarrassed. Will has been giving him all these well thought out gifts, and Nico has been slow to hear what he’s been told.

Does Will know that Nico likes him, too? This is what Nico thinks when he moves on to brush Blackjack’s mane. He thinks he has been clear in his thoughts with Will, but maybe he hasn’t. He has been called emotionless, and thoughtless, and a thousand other unflattering things. Will knows Nico better than anyone else, but maybe even he doesn’t know what Nico thinks?

Nico’s plan forms as the day continues. Will tells him during dinner, that an average Holstein dairy cow weights about 1500 pounds, and Nico has no idea what a Holstein dairy cow is but he believes Will and doesn’t say anything. He barely hears it when Will informs him that an average dairy cow produces 7 to 9 gallons of milk every day, but he drinks the offered glass of milk without a word. Nico really hopes he’s not being rude, because he doesn’t mean to dismiss Will. He just has a lot of things to think about.

By the time they’re walking towards the camp fire and Will tells Nico that most cows chew at least 50 times per minute (which, okay, Nico finds a little bit impressive, but also very useless information), Nico knows that he wants to give Will a gift in return on the twelfth day of Christmas. What it will be, he has no clue, but it’s a start. He knows it has to be something big, something wonderful, to match all the things Will has given him and the ones he’s still (presumably) going to get. He doesn’t have much time, he knows that, but he’s determined to figure something out.

Deciding this makes Nico bold, in a way. Not quite bold enough to hold Will’s hand as they walk, since pretty much everyone is walking around them, too, but bold enough to sit right next to Will, so close that their thighs almost touch. They’re sitting near the back even though Nico knows Will usually prefers sitting in the front rows with his siblings, and Nico wants to one day be brave enough to sit this close to Will even there. He knows it probably won’t be soon, but he _wants_.

(Sometime between stupid songs about drunken sailors and old minor gods that have long since been forgotten, Will leans against Nico’s shoulder slightly and takes his hand. No one is looking – though, in theory, Nico knows that someone is always looking, in a place like this. Nico blushes and hopes no one can see it in the darkening night, holds Will’s hand, and presses their shoulders together. It’s nice. Will is nice.)

It has become a norm by now that Nico and Will walk to their cabins together at night. The Hades cabin is a little further away than the Apollo cabin, and Will always makes the detour, leaving Austin in charge of making sure his siblings all start making themselves ready for bed.

Nico leans against his door and Will stands close. This isn’t yet a norm. Nico doesn’t mind Will saying good night to him like this. It’s extremely nice. “Hey, guess how many cows there are in America!”

Right. There have only been seven facts so far; Nico feels like he should have seen this one coming. “I have no idea, but I get a feeling you’re about to tell me.”

“Oh, come on, Nico”, Will doesn’t quite pout, but it’s close. He looks _so_ cute. Nico wants to blame the lighting, but knows that that’s just the way Will is. “This is the last one, I swear. Indulge me.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “Just tell me.”

“11 million.” Nico thinks Will doesn’t look quite as enthusiastic about it anymore. Maybe it’s because Nico refused to guess, or maybe he’s just tired. Maybe Will wasn’t that into dairy cow facts in the first place, after all. Or maybe – “I want to give you 11 million kisses.”

Nico’s heart jumps to his throat and he looks around. It’s mostly just the cabin heads out, now, some still talking across the court yard to each other. Six other people in total.

“You’d better get started, then.”


	9. Nine Drummers Drumming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the ninth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> nine drummers drumming  
> eight maids a-milking  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't think i've ever told you guys how much i love harley. but here goes. i love him. i love the entire idea of tiny demigods, and harley is just so precious. i'm a little mean to him in this chapter. i hope he forgives me.
> 
> alternative title: nico di angelo has friends part 2.
> 
> [side note: i'm having trouble finishing the last two chapters while helping out at home to bake and clean and prepare for christmas. please send some good vibes my way. much appreciated.]

Nico wakes up to a terrible banging of drums just outside his cabin door. For a moment, he’s almost certain that the war never ended, that those are in fact the battle drums that echoed in his head for weeks afterwards, making him jump with every strange noise or anyone getting too close. It takes him a moment to remember that it’s been months since the last battle drums, and that Camp Half-Blood is supposedly the safest place he could be in right now.

When Nico pulls on a sweater and opens his door, he sees Will. That’s hardly a surprise anymore – when did he become accustomed to see Will the first thing in the morning? What is a surprise, however, is Harley, who is the source of the drumming. Nico wants to know who gave Harley a drum in the first place so that he can stab them in the gut.

Nico looks at Harley until he stops and cowers behind Will. Then Nico turns his attention to Will. “What the hell, Will?”

“The ninth day of Christmas!” says Will as a way of telling Nico good morning. To Nico, the morning isn’t very good so far. “It’s about time you woke up – you've almost missed breakfast already, and then you’re joining me in the infirmary.”

Nico likes Will. He really does. But there are moments when he wants to strangle him a little bit. _Nine drummers drumming_. Perhaps Nico should be glad that there’s only one Harley in Camp Half-Blood. He doubts no one else would have been gullible enough to do this, even with Will’s persuasion skills. “And Harley?”

“Oh, Harley is being a great help today”, Will grins. “You see, he’s going to make sure you hear the drums nine times in total today. It’s the sacrifice I had to make since there is no real orchestra in camp that could have arranged nine drummers doing the drumming simultaneously.” Nico doesn’t know what god or goddess to thank for that. He feels like there are many. “Now come on, di Angelo. Those bandages aren’t going to cut themselves!”

Nico hears the drums twice while in the infirmary. Otherwise the morning goes pretty quickly; Will is treating a few campers who have been taken down by the epidemic cold Will told Nico he saw coming two weeks ago, and Nico isn’t allowed anywhere near them. There aren’t any actual bandages to cut, so Nico is stuck cleaning the supply closet for what feels like the tenth time this past month. It’s cool, he guesses, even if he’d rather be listening to Will rant about some artist or band or another, like he usually does during his shifts in the infirmary.

Lunch passes in a blur, with people asking around to understand what the deal with Harley and the drum is. Nico wants the ground to open up and swallow him, or maybe he just wishes he could melt into the shadows. But he knows Will won’t let him do either, so he just sits back and watches as Will wears a smug grin and doesn’t say a word. Nico has to admit that Will knows how to be devious when he wants to.

They sit by a tree for a little while after lunch, enjoying the slightly warmer day and resting for a bit before resuming camp activities. Will talks a little about a song Austin is going to play in the talent show later in the week and that he keeps practicing over and over in the Apollo cabin, making Will hate the song with a passion. Nico lets himself smile slightly. He enjoys these moments more than he can tell; moments where he can just be quiet and listen to Will without feeling like he needs to contribute to the conversation in any way. Maybe that’s why they’re so well suited together. Is there even such a thing in the real life? Nico doesn’t know.

Will’s monologue fades into a silence that continues for a few minutes, during which Nico thinks he might want to lean his head on Will’s shoulder. Maybe some other time he would have, maybe even this time, if it weren’t for Will softly calling out his name, making him turn his head to look.

Will is so close to Nico that Nico can’t help but blush and gulp. And Will keeps leaning even closer. They’re out in the open front yard of the Big House. Anyone could walk by any second; is Will really going to kiss him here?

(Nico finds he’s oddly fine with this. He isn’t sure what part surprises him more.)

Nico’s eyes are halfway closed and his lips almost touch Will’s when they hear the drums again. Will groans and throws his head back in frustration; Nico jumps in surprise and looks around until he sees Harley marching with his drum across the camp, making sure every living thing in a three mile radius hears him.

“It’s only the fourth time and I’m already regretting this.” Will settles to kissing Nico’s cheek quickly (Nico tries not to feel disappointed) before picking up his things and getting up. “I’ll see you at dinner, yes?”

“Yeah”, Nico sighs. He watches after Will, follows him with his eyes as he disappears into the Big House. Maybe if he asked nicely Chiron would let Nico spend the afternoon in the infirmary, too.

Nico is already up and taking a step towards the Big House after Will to go and ask Chiron just that when movement in the corner of his eye catches his attention. Malcolm is finishing up teaching some young campers Ancient Greek at one of the tables in the dining pavilion, gathering his books and calling after the kids to remind them to keep practicing. (Nico has to admit it’s a little cute. Not Malcolm, particularly, but maybe the kids.)

It occurs to Nico that he still doesn’t have any idea what to give Will, and he’s running out of time. Will had outside help, too, possibly even from Malcolm. It’s only fair Nico consults someone, too, right? Nico squares his shoulders and takes a decisive step towards the dining pavilion before he can change his mind about asking help.

“Malcolm”, Nico says once he gets a little closer, keeping his voice quiet enough that not everyone hears, but loud enough that Malcolm notices someone is talking to him. Nico almost chickens out when Malcolm turns to look at him. “I need your help. Are you busy?”

It’s stupid how nervous Nico is about this. Malcolm is maybe the closest thing Nico has to a friend besides Will, and maybe Jake. A real friend, for the first time since he was a kid. And Malcolm is nice; it’s not like he’d make fun of Nico or something. (At least Nico hopes so.)

Malcolm has a nice wrist watch that he frequently checks the time from. Will says that Malcolm is a little neurotic, but so far Nico assumes that’s just a bad joke. “No, not busy. I was just going back to our cabin to put these away and read for a bit. Do you want to join me?

Nico merely nods and helps Malcolm with the books. Nico has read some of these, himself. He thinks Malcolm is doing a very admirable job, teaching young campers like that. Maybe Nico could do something like that, too. He’s not good with Greek or Latin, much less with archery or lava wall climbing. Maybe he should ask Chiron about teaching some beginners sword fighting class. Nico thinks he might even enjoy that.

As Nico follows Malcolm towards the cabins, he tries to gather his courage to speak what’s on his mind. Will is always telling him to trust people. This is some kind of a baptism by fire.

“Are you aware of the whole twelve days of Christmas thing Will is doing?” Nico doesn’t know how he feels about telling about all of this to someone who isn’t Will, but he supposes _vulnerable_ is a close enough word for it. 

“Oh, so that’s what it is!” Nico isn’t very good at reading people, but for some reason Malcolm’s surprise feels a little fake. “I didn’t know what it was for, Will just asked me to borrow him my polaroid camera. And then he wanted to borrow a book about farm animals, for some reason. He’s been acting a little weird, lately.” Malcolm opens the door to the Athena cabin and ushers Nico in. “Is Harley’s drumming a part of this, too?" 

Nico knows pretty much everyone at camp hates the drumming. He also knows the whole thing is (at least partially) his fault. “Sorry.”

Malcolm just shrugs it off, even though Nico knows it’s annoying. “It’s fine. It’ll end in a few hours, anyway.”

Nico has been to the Athena cabin a couple of times before, but it still strikes him how different it is to the Hades cabin. Or the Apollo cabin. The Athena kids have a very organized floor plan, book shelves separating bunks to give each camper a small sense of privacy, desks pushed together in the middle to create a huge work space. Once again Nico wonders what it would be like to have this many siblings. He likes his solitude in Cabin Thirteen, but it does get a little lonely sometimes. Then again, at least he doesn’t have to share a desk with anyone, and no one is going to borrow any of his books without his permission.

“I want to give Will something in return”, Nico says as an explanation on what he needs Malcolm’s help with. He drops down in a chair and quickly looks around. There’s one other person in the cabin with them, a girl Nico never learned the name of, but he’s listening to music with his headphone’s on. The music is so loud that Nico can hear it all the way across the cabin. He assumes he can talk freely.

“I have no idea what I should do, though. Will has had _weeks_ to prepare this, maybe even months”, Nico whines and Malcolm hums in thought.

“Knowing him, it’s probably months.”

“You’re not helping!” Nico hits his head against the tabletop again, burying his hands in his hair in frustration. “How am I supposed to figure out a good enough gift in return in just _four days_?”

Malcolm drops a book next to Nico’s head on the table. “Truth be told, you only have a little over three days, not four.” When Nico looks up ready to hit him, Malcolm raises his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay! Chill, we’ll figure something out.” He pulls up a chair and sits down next to Nico, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “What have you got so far?”

“Uh, nothing? That’s why I came to you.” Isn’t that obvious? Malcolm is a son of Athena. He’s supposed to be extremely smart, right? Nico generally doesn’t like the godly parent related stereotypes (mostly because they’re never kind to him personally) but he really needs Malcolm’s help with this. He has a feeling Malcolm has helped Will, too, even if he says he didn’t know what this was about.

Malcolm rolls his eyes. “Wow, I’m honored.”

Nico kicks one of the legs on his chair hard enough to make Malcolm stumble a little for balance. “Stop whining and help me.”

Malcolm does his best, Nico guesses. They toy with a few ideas, tossing a small ball back and forth inside the cabin until Nico doesn’t catch it and the ball hits Malcolm’s brother in the face. They don’t come up with anything too good in Nico’s opinion, and after a while their conversation drifts to a few designs Malcolm is doing.

(Like Annabeth, Malcolm wants to be an architect. But he doesn’t aim as high – literally – as her; he wants to make beautiful buildings that are functional as homes, that can stand through extreme weathers and earthquakes and everything and still look nice. Nico thinks that if he ever wants to build a house for himself Malcolm is the first one he’s going to call to make the blue prints.)

Nico walks to dinner together with Malcolm. They part with a fist bump (that Malcolm insists is still cool) by the fire pit, and Nico makes his way to the Apollo table where Will has been keeping a seat for him across from himself. Nico sits down and is about to open his mouth to ask how Will’s afternoon in the infirmary went when he’s interrupted by a loud voice a few tables over.

“That’s _it_.”

The whole dining pavilion quiets down and watches as a girl from the Ares cabin stomps over to where Harley is ready to start another drum solo. Harley, ever fearless and always happy to make new friends, doesn’t know to back off before the drum is snatched from his hands, thrown to the ground and stepped over. Multiple times.

Someone cheers. A few people join in, but mostly Nico just hears people sighing in relief. He has to admit that he’s a little relieved, himself. He’s not ungrateful, he knows Will has put a lot of thought into each of these little gifts, but this may have been a little too much for everyone to bear.

“I don’t know if I should be saying this”, Will says, leaning across the table to talk privately to Nico, “but I’m actually a little bit glad it ended this way, too. Note to self, drum roll every hour is a bad idea.”

Nico snickers and gets up with the rest of the Apollo table to get his dinner. When he passes the Athena table, Malcolm tugs at his sleeve and gestures for him to lean in. Nico is a little confused. They just spent all afternoon talking; it’s not like Malcolm to share secrets in public, anyway. And he couldn’t have figured out an idea for the gift thing yet, right?

Oh, how wrong Nico is.

“How good are your graphic design skills?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (harley my little drummer boy i am so sorry please forgive me you will get a new drum for next christmas i promise)


	10. Ten Pipers Piping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the tenth day of christmas   
> my true love gave to me  
> ten pipers piping  
> nine drummers drumming  
> eight maids a-milking  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who else is here for the good nico the book worm content???
> 
> alternative title: nico di angelo officially has more friends than i do

Nico doesn’t really have an opinion on babies. It seems like in this time, you have to have an opinion on everything, from global warming to the First Lady’s shoes and from Billboard hits to red meat. As for babies, it feels like you either love them or hate them. Will loves them, Nico knows that. So do many others. Most of the Ares cabin seems to hate babies for some reason, whereas it’s hard to get an opinion on anything from Clovis or anyone in Hypnos, but they don’t seem to particularly like them, either.

As Nico’s father is the god of death, everyone seems to just automatically assume that Nico hates babies with a passion. Nico doesn’t understand that. Just because death is inevitable doesn’t mean he couldn’t celebrate birth just like anyone else. But still, he doesn’t exactly love babies, either, probably because he’s never really had a chance to spend much time around them. A guy from the Aphrodite cabin says that having a ton of little siblings doesn’t help either, that he still hates babies and never wants to have one of his own.

There’s one baby in Camp Half-Blood, too. Chuck Hedge is, admittedly, the cutest satyr Nico has seen, if only because he doesn’t think satyrs are particularly cute in general. He remembers that Chuck was born during the battle against Gaea. Will helped in the delivery – a fact that Will never lets Nico forget – and was named godfather shortly after the war ended. Chuck, Mellie and Coach Hedge live in a small cottage on the other side of the forest, and Will has taken Nico there once. Nico likes Mellie, and fatherhood has made Coach a little more bearable, but still, Nico has no idea what he is supposed to think about Chuck.

Will gave Chuck reed pipes as a Christmas gift. Nico knows this, because the sight of Chuck with his first pipes (the instrument is almost as big as the baby itself, so Nico thinks it’s just a bit ridiculous; Chuck won’t even be old enough to play it for years) apparently was enough to almost make Coach burst into tears, and that’s not something that goes unnoticed in a place like Camp Half-Blood. It’s all Nico has been hearing about from the nymphs he sometimes visits them by the canoe lake. Will has a picture he’s shown Nico on multiple occasions.

It’s because of that picture that Nico recognizes the reed pipes the second Piper walks up to him where he’s sitting and reading in the stands again.

“Hi, Nico”, she smiles and sits on the bench one step lower from Nico’s. Nico has always liked Piper. She’s enthusiastic in the same way Will is, and scary good with her knife. She has the same kind of humor as Will does, too – in fact, Nico thinks they’d make good friends. He doesn’t understand why that makes him want to smile. “What are you reading?”

Nico holds up the book. It’s a crime novel he borrowed from the Athena cabin. Apparently, it’s a whole series, but Nico is halfway through this one and so far he is not impressed. The plot is mediocre and the language a little too simple. He’ll have to ask Malcolm for something else.

“Ooh, I’ve read that one. There was talk about a movie, too, I think. Dad was asked to read the script.” There’s something odd in Piper’s face for a while. Nico knows she doesn’t like talking about her dad’s job. After a moment she shrugs it off and holds up the reed pipes. “Anyway, do you have a minute? Or, like, maybe ten?”

Putting a candy wrapper between the pages, Nico closes the book and sets it aside. “I guess. What’s up?”

Piper makes a face. “Please, promise me you won’t hate me for this?” She looks a little bit pained as she plays with one of the strings holding the pipes together. “Will paid me five drachmas to do this. I hope you know what this is all about, because I don’t have a clue and I demand answers once I’m done.”

Nico doesn’t want to think how much time and money Will has spent on these gifts in total. Especially not as he thinks about the terribly inadequate gift he has been preparing to give Will in return. Nico is pretty sure Will doesn’t have the kind of money to do these extravagant things since he doesn’t have a job he gets paid for. Nico makes a mental note to some day return the gift fully, maybe even plan a whole spectacle for Will’s birthday.

(Nico doesn’t think he’s the spectacle planning kind of person. He doesn’t even know when Will’s birthday is. But he’ll find out, and then he’ll figure out something as good as this, just for Will.)

Piper rises the reed pipes to her lips and begins.

It has never occurred to Nico that Piper could be musical. Maybe it shouldn’t be such a surprise, but hearing her play is still odd. It’s a soft tune, a little melancholic, and if Nico lets himself listen to it too carefully it’s almost hypnotic. That’s probably because of Piper’s charm speak, though Nico isn’t sure it can be transferred like that. If so, Piper just became all the more terrifying.

The song Piper plays isn’t all that long, but when she reaches the end she just takes a deep breath and starts all over again. It seems that Will has learned from yesterday, and instead of making Piper play for Nico several different times throughout the day, she’s playing it all in one go. _Ten Pipers piping_. That’s actually pretty funny. Nico thinks he’ll have to tell Will that. He wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is his favorite of the gifts so far (that would be the sixth, because of reasons) but it’s definitely nice and surprising.

By the time Piper finished, Nico is already grinning. He thinks about schooling his expression back to neutral, but Will _has_ been telling him that being a little more open might make him feel a little better. What’s the harm in smiling a little bit if he’s having a good day?

“I don’t know what your face is doing but I like it”, Piper says and puts the reed pipes into a satchel Mellie has sewn for it specifically. Piper sets the satchel down next to her and gives Nico her undivided attention. Nico isn’t used to that, since not too many people bother with him. It only bothers him a little bit. “So, want to tell me what this is about? I have an idea but I’d rather hear it from you that guess and make things awkward.”

Nico appreciates it, but that doesn’t mean he won’t roll his eyes at Piper. People don’t give her enough credit. Nico is sure she would have guessed correctly.

With a sigh, Nico tells Piper about the Polaroid picture and the turtle doves, and every other present he’s gotten so far, and how it took him way too long to put it all together. He doesn’t tell her about the kisses, though, or the hand holding, or anything that he deems to be too personal, but he’s sure his burning face tells her everything she needs to know, anyway.

Piper is cool with it all. She doesn’t tease, and she doesn’t do that annoying thing some people do where she starts asking a question after a question, demanding details and squealing and going all “oh my gods, I can’t _even_ ” on him – Nico doesn’t even know what that means. (What can’t they even? He’s sure they’re not talking about the mathematical term, but at this point they might as well be, since he wouldn’t understand it anyway.) No, Piper listens and smiles (grins, more like), and she doesn’t interrupt when it takes Nico a few seconds too long to look for a word to describe how he feels about it all. (He settles with confused. He still thinks that’s a little too vague.)

When Nico finishes he looks down at his hands on his lap. It’s not because he’s avoiding looking at Piper, at least he doesn’t think so. He’s just found that it’s sometimes a little hard to look at people when they’re staring at you, and Piper is. Staring, that is. She’s staring and her eyes make Nico uneasy in normal circumstances, when he hasn’t opened up about something this personal that makes him super insecure. Nico can almost feel how his stomach clenches with his nerves.

“So”, Piper says after a brief silence and Nico looks up to meet her twinkling eyes, “how does it feel like to have a boyfriend who is even sappier than mine?”

Nico sometimes forgets that Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite. It’s not because she’s any less beautiful than the rest of them, or because the other Aphrodite kids are airheads. Some of them are, sure, but it’s not that. Maybe it’s that, in general, Nico doesn’t really think about people’s godly parents. (He tries to not think about his own too much, too. Doesn’t always work.)

The point is that Nico forgets, and then Piper says something like _that_ , uses the word _boyfriend_ , and it gives Nico a shock in his brains because wow, he hasn’t even thought about that, and Piper just _says_ it? Do people just go throwing that around? Isn’t boyfriend a title that should be agreed upon? Nico hasn’t even thought to discuss that with Will, not yet. Should they? Or should Nico wait, give it time, wait for Will to say it first? That would make it a little bit easier on Nico, for sure, but it would be nerve wracking, and not very fair to Will, anyway.

Piper is a daughter of Aphrodite. Nico knows she has a talent for relationships, platonic and romantic and all. If he were to ask anyone about this, it would be Piper.

“I mean, is he?” Nico asks and turns to look at his hands again. He’s been picking on his nails again. He should stop before they bleed. Will is going to scold him again.

Nico can hear Piper snort quite inelegantly. It almost makes him smile again. “Sappier than Jason? For sure.” Nico frowns when he gets how his question could be misunderstood. Piper must take his frown the wrong way, too, because she continues, “In a good way, of course! I mean, I think this whole thing is really rather sweet. I’m almost jealous.”

“No, I mean”, Nico shakes his head, then bites his lip briefly before forcing the words out of his mouth. “Is Will my boyfriend? I mean... we haven’t talked about it, exactly.” Nico’s heart is hammering in his chest and he would rather be anywhere else. He wonders if he’d be okay to shadow travel away in the middle of the conversation, but that would be rude, right? He swallows and makes a conscious decision to stay put. “Should we? Is that something that people actually do?”

From the corner of his eye Nico can see Piper shrug. He’s so glad she isn’t making fun of him, at least not right away. “I don’t know, every relationship is different, I guess. I’m probably not even the best person to ask about this, considering how Jason and I started out.” Nico hasn’t heard the whole story, but he knows that it has something to do with Hera manipulating both Piper and Jason, and Nico can guess the rest. “But if you ask me, I’d say it’s pretty obvious that he’s your boyfriend. I mean, neither of you strike me as the kind of people to go around kissing just anyone.”

When Nico blushes it feels like he’s red from the top of his head down to his toes. He’s known that people have seen them, he has been acutely aware of it since he and Will spent quite a lot of time kissing by the door of the Hades cabin two nights ago (the memory still makes Nico’s head spin).

But this is the first time anyone has said anything about it to Nico. There have been some long looks and annoying wiggly brows and a few whistles courtesy to the Stoll brothers, but so far people haven’t said anything. They’re probably talking behind his back, like they usually do, and Nico kind of prefers it that way. At least then he doesn’t have to figure out how to respond to that.

“And hey, don’t think about it too much”, Piper continues, as if sensing Nico’s discomfort in answering. “That’s what I say when people ask about this. It’s super obvious how much Will likes you, even before I knew about him going all twelve days of Christmas on you. That’s some romantic stuff right there. And judging from the way you two have been hanging out a lot in the past months I’m guessing you two are close already.”

Nico nods. “He’s – “ Nice? Funny? Incredibly talented? Cool? Cute? _Perfect_? “I think he’s my best friend.” His blush deepens. “You know, before all the other… stuff.”

Piper makes a wide gesture with her hand. “There you go, then. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Just make it clear to Will that you return his feelings and you’ll be just fine. Like, to me it’s obvious you’re super into him, but you might have noticed that Will can be a little dumb sometimes.”

Thinking about all the weird stuff that’s been happening lately, Nico lets out a huff of laughter and relaxes a little. “Yes. Yes, he can.”

Maybe they’re the perfect match, then, Nico and Will. They’re both ridiculous and dumb. Nico kind of likes to think about that. Maybe he’ll tell Will about it some day, too.

Nico still isn’t sure if Will and him are on the same page when it comes to feelings and stuff. That makes Nico a little uneasy; he doesn’t like not knowing things that concern himself. He knows it’s only been a handful of days, and that he should learn to be patience, but he’s never been very good at that and being a demigod doesn’t help. He’s not exactly build to be the one to sit around and wait. But then again, he really doesn’t want to be the one to start that particular conversation, either.

Nico lets out a small sigh even before he realizes it.

“Hey.” Nico looks up to see Piper smile. She has a warm smile, not quite similar to Will’s but not that different, either. “If it helps anything, I think you two look incredibly good together. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Oddly, it does help a little. Nico answers to Piper’s smile with one of his own.


	11. Eleven Ladies Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the eleventh day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> eleven ladies dancing  
> ten pipers piping  
> nine drummers drumming  
> eight maids a-milking  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this chapter is a tad bit shorter than the previous ones. but hey, you get a lot of kisses and hand-holding, so don't be too mad at me.
> 
>  **announcement:** there is a good chance that the last chapter wont be out before the 25th, because i'm super busy and also have great difficulties finishing the fic in a way that will make the story justice. please bare with me.
> 
> (also this chapter is finished only because my ten year old sister sat down with me and hit me with a book every time i stopped writing for more than three minutes. she even created a dog on the sims4 and left him in charge of me while she ran to the bathroom. please appreciate her at least half as much as i do. she's having way too much fun creating the paw patrol team on sims now. i've created a monster.)
> 
> ((i've had to try posting this about five times now. i really really really hope i don't have to do it one more time.))

Nico has known about the talent night for a few weeks, but it still managed to escape his mind that it’s actually _today_. Not that he even thought about participating, no; he’s just surprised, because he has been sitting with the Apollo kids during meals for days now, and the talent show is all they’ve been talking about. That, and poetry. The Apollo kids are _very_ passionate about poetry. And talent night. In fact, the Apollo kids are very passionate about a whole bunch of things that Nico seriously doesn’t have an opinion on, and that has earned him plenty of dirty looks in the past few weeks, mostly from Austin.

But talent night has managed to slip Nico’s mind today. Maybe it’s because he’s had so much else to focus on lately.

Like Will and his stupid (wonderful) gifts. And that Will actually _likes_ Nico, the same way Nico likes Will. And that Will wants to spend time with Nico, almost every free moment he gets, and spending time together half of the time means getting to hold Will’s hand and kissing, and _that’s_ got Nico’s head spinning so fast that there’s no room for any talent shows to occupy his brain.

Kissing Will is still weird. It’s only been a couple of days, so Nico knows he couldn’t even really have gotten used to it, anyway, but he never thought it would feel weird. (Not that he’s thought a lot about kissing Will before this week.) Nico thinks he’s starting to get the hang of it, as in what to do and stuff, so he doesn’t feel awkward anymore, but when he thinks about how a few weeks ago he would never have imagined himself doing this... yeah, it’s weird. But good weird.

Kissing is also very nice. Take right now, for example; they have maybe fifteen minutes before they need to get going to the camp fire with the rest of the camp, but right now there is just Will and Nico behind the Hades cabin, and no one else exists outside of their own small bubble. It had started out as a quick kiss in the middle of a conversation (because Will just “felt like kissing Nico”, and apparently that’s another thing that people do that Nico wasn’t previously aware of) but has now evolved into something that Nico secretly, deep inside his mind, wants to call making out. Just a little bit.

Nico is starting to learn that once he starts getting winded from the lack of oxygen, he can just switch to kissing Will’s jaw and neck. It’s easier to breathe that way, and Will seems to enjoy it a big deal. Will smells like sweat and laundry detergent, and he has two small moles under his left ear that are barely noticeable if you’re not paying enough attention, and when Nico kisses Will under his ear Will lets out the softest sigh, a little strangled like he’s trying to keep it in. It makes Nico blush, but he can’t help but do it again anyway. Multiple times.

A gentle hand on Nico’s cheek guides his face up, and Will gives him the softest smile before kissing him on the lips again. Short and sweet, almost a little too short, but Nico smiles anyway (after he stops chasing after Will’s lips) when Will leans back.

“I hate to be the one to put down the brakes”, Will mutters, “especially since I was really enjoying that.” The tips of Will’s ears are red, and his cheeks are pink. The setting sun hits Will’s hair and paints it strawberry blond. “But we should get going. I know you don’t want to be the last one to arrive.”

Will is so pretty. Nico wants to hide out with him for the rest of the night, possibly for the rest of the month. Just kissing and holding hands all the time, and Will looking at him like that, like Nico is something special to him. Nico wants that a lot. But he knows it’s not possible, and besides, Will is right; Nico doesn’t want to arrive when everyone else is already seated, because then everyone will be _looking_. Nico isn’t trying to hide. He just really doesn’t like the attention.

So Nico nods and takes Will’s hand in his. He’s getting better at holding Will’s hand around other people. It doesn’t make him uncomfortable, just very aware of both himself and everyone else. But whenever he gets nervous his hand twitches a little, and every time that happens Will squeezes his fingers reassuringly, so it’s all okay.

They don’t talk on their way over. Nico listens to other campers laugh and joke around, watches as someone jumps on Jason’s back and makes him stumble and almost fall. Jason lets out a few curse words, then drops the other person and falls down to make ten sit-ups. It’s something he’s started doing recently, saying he doesn’t like it when he curses, and that this way he can keep fit better. Nico doesn’t think Jason curses that much, and he isn’t sure that ten odd sit-ups every other day are doing much. He makes sure to roll his eyes at Jason as they pass him.

Will manages to convince Nico to sit in the fourth row. It’s the furthest from the back that Nico has ever sat during camp fire since he was a little kid and Bianca was still alive. He’s nervous about what others may think, but then Will sits next to him, so close that their hips are touching, then draws their still linked hands into his jacket pocket. It sounds stupid in his own head, but Nico doesn’t think he cares much about what others think of him when he’s with Will. He likes to think it’s a good thing.

Halfway through the first performance (one of Will’s younger sisters reciting poetry Nico has never heard of) it occurs to Nico that it’s nearing the end of the day and Will has yet to gift him for the eleventh day of Christmas. Because grand gestures and theatrics are very much a Will thing, Nico just _knows_ Will has something planned for the talent night. He leans in so that Will can hear him whisper without trouble.

“Please tell me you aren’t going to do something stupid.” Nico is very aware that he’s sitting so close to Will that people beside them are talking. He isn’t sure if he cares. Maybe he cares a little bit.

“Oh gods, no. I’m not a performer.” Nico calls bullshit, if only for the fact that Will is a son of Apollo and very talented with, well, everything. “But I did pay a few people to do something stupid.”

Nico isn’t surprised. He’s hardly even annoyed; at this point, Will could probably do pretty much anything and Nico would just take it in stride, because that’s just the way Will is. And Nico trusts Will, and Will knows (mostly) what makes Nico uncomfortable. He wouldn’t mean to make Nico upset, no matter what he has planned.

Austin plays a song that has a ten-minute saxophone solo. Will tries to look annoyed because he’s supposedly grown to hate the song in the past few weeks, but Nico catches him humming along and tapping his feet anyway. A quiet guy from the Ares cabin apparently knows how to beat box, and that’s such a big surprise to everyone that it takes a whole five minutes for the crowd to calm down before Chiron can announce the next performers.

“Next, we have a dance performance. Please give a big hand to Eleven Ladies Dancing!”

A jolt goes down Nico’s spine as Will lets go of his hand to join in the applause. This must be it. Nico watches as six Aphrodite girls, the Nike sisters and some other girls take the stage, get in formation and turn down their heads to wait for the music to start. Once the audience quiets down Austin presses play on the player and the girls start moving.

The music is some kind of a pop song Nico doesn’t think he’s heard of. It has a catchy beat that Nico likes, but the lyrics are mindless and stupid and forgettable. Nico doesn’t know much about dancing, but he thinks that the girls are good. At least they know to follow the rhythm, and they’re synchronized, which Nico assumes is good. Will takes his hand again somewhere in the middle of it, and Nico presses their shoulders tightly together to show his appreciation. He hopes Will gets the message. If the way Will leans back with just as much pressure is any indication, he does.

Nico watches the whole performance with a keen eye. He isn’t sure he normally would, but this is a gift from Will – Will, who apparently is sort of his boyfriend now. Nico isn’t interested in dance, particularly, but Will did say he paid for this performance. It’s only fair Nico pays attention.

The dancers finish in what looks like a not very thought-out formation, with half of them on the round and one girl sitting on another’s shoulders, but they do look like they had a lot of fun. The music stops and the applause starts, and Nico lets go of Will’s hand to clap along. He’s been told that there won’t be prizes or even winners in this first talent night show of the year, but Nico still thinks Eleven Ladies Dancing should get a small trophy. (He knows he’s being a little biased.)

Nico turns his head just enough that his face is a little closer to Will’s ear. His heart pounds in his chest.

“Thank you”, he whispers.

Will answers with a smile and takes Nico’s hand again. This time he doesn’t let go to applaud for the rest of the night.

When Will at the end of the night walks Nico back to his cabin, Nico doesn’t shy away from holding Will’s hand the whole time. He knows people talk – let them. Nico hasn’t felt this good about anything in such a long time that he doesn’t think he should use much energy into caring what others think about it.

Will backs Nico up against the door to the Hades cabin and leans in to kiss him. Will is only an inch or so taller than Nico is, but when they’re close like this it feels like a lot more. A part of Nico likes it, how Will almost seems like he’s towering over Nico; another part of him can’t wait for his growth spurt, maybe he’ll be the one towering over Will after that.

Nico holds Will’s hand all through the slow kiss, and his other hand shyly takes hold of Will’s waist. Someone whistles while walking past, but Nico spares only a second to wonder if he should send zombies after them. He lets it go this time, but it’s good to know that he can scare away people if they get too annoying.

Will leans back and rests their foreheads together. Nico opens his eyes. This close, in the dark of the night, all he can see is Will’s eyes. It doesn’t really matter, though, because that’s what he would be looking at, anyway.

“I don’t want to go just yet”, Will whispers. His breath smells like s’mores. Nico has first-hand knowledge that that’s what Will’s lips taste like, too.

Nico swallows. “I don’t want you to go yet, either.”

Will smiles and kisses him again, quick and gentle. Nico likes him so much it’s insane.

“Hey”, Will says, like he went somewhere else and came back. Nico thinks it’s silly. “It’s the twelfth day of Christmas tomorrow.” Nico is aware. He raises his eye brows, wondering what Will is after. “Will you go out with me tomorrow? As in, on a date?”

 _A date?_ Right. Nico had managed to forget that normal people in relationships went on dates. Does that mean that Nico can actually call this thing he has with Will a relationship? Will it be weird If he does – or if he doesn’t?

Nico swallows again, this time to buy himself some time. But is there even more than one proper answer to that?

“Yes?” He doesn’t mean to, but it comes out sounding a little more like a question than he intends to. “Yeah. Yes, I will go on a date with you.”

So formal. Why does he have to sound so formal? Can’t he at least try to pass as a normal person, just this once? Nico wants to hit himself in the face, possibly with a chair.

But Will doesn’t seem to mind. In the past few days Nico has wondered a couple of times if there’s something wrong with Will’s brain, being attracted to someone like Nico. So far he hasn’t found an answer to that, but he doesn’t really care. Nico is the one coming out a winner in this.

“Great!” Will kisses Nico one, two, three more times, then takes a few steps back. Nico shivers against the cold night air. His hand lingers in Will’s. “Walk with me to breakfast tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

Nico will never understand how Will has the energy to smile that brightly all the time. It’s insanely attractive, if a little bit annoying. Will walks backwards away from Nico, never taking his eyes off Nico’s eyes. “Good night, Nico.”

Nico smiles and does a stupid little wave with his fingers. “Good night Will.”


	12. Twelve Lords a-Leaping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> on the twelfth day of christmas  
> my true love gave to me  
> twelve lords a-leaping  
> eleven ladies dancing  
> ten pipers piping  
> nine drummers drumming  
> eight maids a-milking  
> seven swans a-swimming  
> six geese a-laying  
> five golden rings  
> four colly birds  
> three french hens  
> two turtle doves  
> and a partridge in a pear tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY CHRISTMAS
> 
> we made it to the end! it was a struggle to finish in time, for me, but i did it! i even managed to include everything i wanted to.
> 
> i want to thank you all for reading and commenting and leaving kudos throughout this month - it has really given me the boost i've needed to keep this going. you're all superstars.
> 
> i have no other multi-chapters planned at this time (just some small ideas that haven't fully formed yet) but once i do you will probably hear about it first on my tumblr, @significant-what. go follow and drop some asks, i'll dedicate an afternoon soon to answer all the messages currently sitting in my ask box.
> 
> here it goes, the twelfth day of christmas. i hope you've had a good one today.

When the twelfth day of Christmas finally arrives, Nico is sweating and nervous from the moment he wakes up. He didn’t sleep well, he’s afraid of what Will might think of the gift he has planned, and he does not want to think what Will might have planned for the day that is supposed to be about _twelve lords a-leaping_ because it’s surely going to be better than anything Nico had planned.

It’s not that Nico’s gift is bad, per se. It’s actually pretty clever if he does say so himself. But all of Will’s ideas have been _so_ good, and he’s managed to surprise Nico every day, even after Nico figured out what is going on. Like, sure, Nico has to admit that not all of Will’s gift choices these past two weeks were brilliant. The painting, for example, was simply terrible. The drums were not a very good idea, either, causing Nico two sleepless nights and Harley a heartbroken camp fire without his drum (Nico feels like he might have to replace it, he doesn’t want to be on Harley’s bad side since he has heard Harley is designing the next three-legged death race).

But they have been surprising, and Nico can tell that a lot of thought have gone into them, and he can’t help but feel like his own gift is any good compared to all of that. How can he possibly ever hope to top twelve days of surprises, each of them better than the last? Nico doesn’t know, and he would rather not think about it at all.

Nico gets up, gets dressed and picks up the small brown paper package from his desk. He makes sure the other part of the gift is securely in the breast pocket of his jacket, then makes his way outside.

Sitting down on the front steps of his cabin, Nico hides the package inside his jacket and waits. He’s a little early. Will usually wakes up early, goes on a run, then comes to get Nico for breakfast twenty minutes before his shift usually starts in the infirmary. But Nico woke up early this morning, unable to sleep any longer with his nerves racing around. It’s been a long time since Nico was this insecure about anything, and yet he can’t wait to see Will’s reaction. He hopes Will is going to like his gift. It may not be quite as detailed and thought out and elaborate as the gifts Will has been giving Nico, but it’s... well. It’s something.

Nico taps his fingers on his knees and looks at the ground intensely. If he focuses hard enough, he can decide on a blade of grass and turn it every shade of brown until it’s dead without affecting the rest of the grass. He’s been practicing a lot lately. Will still doesn’t like it when he uses his powers too much because they make him dizzy, but Nico doesn’t think something small like this can hurt him too much.

It’s funny that, as much as Nico is staring at the ground in front of him, it takes a soft chuckle for him to notice that Will is already standing in front of him. Nico looks up. The sun is behind Will, creating a reddish glowing halo around his head. As Nico blinks and his eyes adjust to the light, he can see Will’s face, Will’s eyes, Will’s smile. He’s radiant, he really is, and Nico can really see his resemblance to the sun. It’s a little cliché, but as long as Nico keeps the thought to himself it shouldn’t matter, right?

“What did the poor grass ever do to you?” Will’s voice is wobbly, like he’s trying to hold in a laugh and failing terribly. Nico doesn’t get offended. He’s long since learned that Will doesn’t mean to insult him when he laughs at something he does. Will is just naturally cheery and happy.

(And pretty and funny and clever and amazing and perfect and – )

“Nothing, I guess.” Nico gets up, trying to move so that the package doesn’t rustle against his side. He gives Will a smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Will’s smile is softer now as he leans in and gives Nico a quick kiss. “You’re up early.”

“Hmm.” Nico doesn’t want Will to know how nervous he is. It probably shows, anyway. It would be just embarrassing to say it out loud. Nico hops down from the last step and shuffles a little closer to Will, feeling his cheeks heat up when he reaches for Will’s hand. “Did – did you sleep well?”

Nico doesn’t know when that happened – when did he start caring if Will sleeps well, if he gets enough rest in general, if he has fun or if there’s something particularly funny that happens to him while they are apart? It’s odd, and the realization startles Nico a little, but Will keeps him upright as they start walking towards the dining pavilion.

Will squeezes his fingers. Will does that a lot. “I did! I was very excited about our date today, though. Do you want to go as soon as we finish breakfast? I bribed Kayla to take my morning shift in the infirmary.”

Nico nods and refuses to let go of Will’s hand until they’re seated at the far end of the Apollo table.

Breakfast itself is a quiet affair. People seem tired – Nico understands that many cabins hosted small after parties for the talent night after curfew. Otherwise things are starting to get back to normal around camp, after the holidays, and half of the Hephaestus cabin seems to be already in Bunker 9, working on their inventions. Nico might have joined them this morning, if he didn’t have something better already planned.

(Not that Nico actually has anything planned. Isn’t the dating culture so that the one who asks plans the date? Nico really hopes Will has at least something planned, because Nico has no idea what people usually do on dates. Knowing Will, this date is going to be something elaborate and most probably crazy romantic. It’s their first date, so Nico thinks that’s allowed. He just hopes that Will is going to take them somewhere a little more private.)

Nico chooses to force himself to eat a little more than he usually eats in the mornings. It’s not like he expects to spend the whole day with Will, just the two of them, but let’s just say that he wouldn’t mind it either. Better to make sure he won’t starve if he misses lunch for some reason. He doesn’t say anything to Will, but he does notice that Will is eating a little more, too.

After breakfast Will takes Nico’s hand and leads him towards the lake. Someone whistles after them, but Nico doesn’t turn to look. His face heats up severely, he looks down at his shoes, but Will’s hand in his is warm and comfortable, and Nico decides that this is the thing he wants to put his energy in, this thing with Will, and not someone he cares little about. He shifts his hand so that their fingers link together, Will’s Nico’s Will’s Nico’s Will’s. It’s a little different, but Nico thinks he likes it.

They sit down on a fallen tree trunk on the other side of the lake, made into a proper bench. Will has hidden snacks under it, as well as a small package wrapped in deep blue paper. Nico takes his two packages out too and thrusts them in Will’s hands as soon as they sit down, worried that he will lose his nerve.

“Please, open them.” Nico’s voice is soft, and he closes his eyes to refocus himself. “It’s not – it’s probably not anywhere as nice as anything you’ve given me, but I wanted to get you something too, so…”

Will makes a surprised noise, like he hadn’t expected Nico to give him anything. Which is silly, of course – why wouldn’t Nico give him anything? Isn’t that what boyfriends do, give each other gifts? Does this mean that Will doesn’t think them as boyfriends?

Nico should not be thinking about this right now, when he’s already nervous. He shouldn’t – oh.

“Thank you”, Will whispers against the skin of Nico’s cheek after kissing it. His breath feels a little cool against Nico’s hot face. “I have the sweetest boyfriend ever.”

That’s – it’s terribly unfair how Will can just _say_ things like that like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like he knows Nico is insecure about _just that_? Is Will even real? Does this have something to do with the fact that his father is also the god of prophecy? Nico doesn’t know, he has so many questions and not enough answers, and Will – Will is already opening the bigger package with careful fingers.

It’s nothing much, Nico thinks, but he and Malcolm spend a lot of time trying to get it together in time. It’s a notebook, filled with things from the song Twelve Days Of Christmas; a brief info page about a partridge Nico copied from an ornithology book, a goose feather taped to a page and small drawn hearts around it (Nico is a little embarrassed about that one), a Polaroid picture of the Eleven Ladies Dancing -group from last night that Malcolm took. Throughout the pages, in the corner of the right side page, is a doodled row of twelve little characters. When Will flips the pages quickly, it looks like the characters are jumping.

“It’s wonderful!” Will sounds like Nico has given him something extraordinary and not just a notebook full of garbage. Nico wants to think that’s a success. “It even has the twelve lords a-leaping! Although…” Will gives his blue palm-sized package to Nico. “It seems like we had the same idea, for today.”

When Nico unwraps the paper he can see that Will is right (he usually is). The notebook is smaller and it has leather covers, and the doodled characters are a lot more polished than Nico’s hasty stick figures, but the idea is the same. It’s still a notebook cartoon of twelve lords a-leaping.

It makes Nico smile. He feels a little better about his gift now. Will is just as silly as he is, and a lot goofier. Of course he likes the gift Nico gave him.

Nico leans closer and gives Will a quick kiss on his cheek, mirroring Will from just moments ago. “Thank you. I really like it.” Nico also really likes the pleased blush that spreads on Will’s cheeks. “Open the other one, too.”

Inside the smaller package is a small bead. Will brings it close to his face and Nico can tell the exact moment he realizes what it is he’s looking at, because Will’s eyes widen and his lips part in wonderment.

Nico hasn’t painted anything in his life before. Ever. Hazel is the artist in this family. Nico has spent hours in this past week or so practicing on multiple beads with Malcolm, until last night he was finally satisfied with how the bead looked like.

“It took me a while”, Nico says, feeling his heart thumping almost painfully in his chest. It’s one thing to let yourself be kissed (several times) and entirely another to speak of the feelings behind it out loud. “A good while longer than you probably hoped. But I got it.” He gives Will a nervous smile. “Message received, loud and clear.”

And Will looks so happy. Delighted, would probably be the word Nico really should use, if he ever were to explain someone what Will looks like right now. But he won’t, because this moment isn’t meant for sharing. This is for the two of them alone, and Nico will take everything he thinks about and feels in this moment to his grave.

(He will tell Will, though. Some day. If they’re lucky enough to grow old together and sit in rocking chairs on the back porch of some small house, watching the sun set. Maybe then Nico will tell him, even though it makes Nico blush to even think of the possibility they would get that far.)

Nico got his own camp necklace just this last year, since it was the first time he was ever present in the end of the summer feast. He got a bead in it, too, half orange and half purple to symbolize the new relationship between the two demigod camps. Nico doesn’t like wearing the necklace around his neck, though, instead preferring to have it wrapped around his wrist tightly enough that it doesn’t fall off.

For a while during the fall, Nico was jealous of Will’s necklace that had so many beads in it. But just for a brief while; Nico quickly learned about the incident that forced Will to come stay at camp full time while still so young. The way Will talks about his mother makes Nico think that he must love her very much. Nico can’t imagine it’s easy to be so far away from her, only seeing her once a year, if even that. Nico doesn’t really have a way to relate, having been on his own for so long. The closest thing he can think of is if he would have to be away from Hazel for such a long time. Nico wouldn’t like that. He thinks Will doesn’t like it, either.

So Nico got the idea of a necklace bead of his own. He supposes it’s a little tacky to have matching beads, but he doesn’t care. He likes Will, and Will likes him, and if they want to why shouldn’t they have matching beads? Who is going to notice them, anyway?

“It’s a partridge”, Nico says, just like Will said twelve days ago, and he can feel something in his throat. He tries to swallow around it.

Will smiles so softly that Nico feels it could be used as a weapon. It makes Nico feel very weak, at least. “A partridge in a pear tree.” Will’s eyes travel from the bead in his hands to the necklace that Nico wears wrapper around his wrist. Nico knows he can see that they match. “We’ve come a full circle, haven’t we?”

Nico smiles. “I think we have.”

Nico helps Will add the bead to his camp necklace, right next to the one everyone got from the end of the summer camp fire last August. He fastens it around Will’s neck again, then sits back down on the tree trunk and takes Will’s hand.

They sit like that and look out on the lake. No one is brave enough to swim in the middle of winter, but someone seems to be getting a canoe out. Nico can hear a bird sing somewhere close. The air smells like the forest and cold air. Will scoots a little closer and leans his head on Nico’s shoulder, and Nico smiles. No one maybe actually wants to be a half-blood, but Nico at least wouldn’t change his life right now for anything.

**Author's Note:**

> in the spirit of holidays, i give you my very [favourite version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA6QsHdXwdI) of this christmas carol. hope you enjoy!


End file.
